Although he introduced the same idea as a proposed amendment to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 recently considered and passed by both the House and Senate ahead of President Joe Biden’s signature, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has introduced a standalone bill that could raise certain taxes for some Americans by 25 percent. It has received zero cosponsors in the Democratic Party-controlled U.S. Senate.
The prospective tax hike would come through tariffs, meaning taxes on the import of certain goods, and the amount of cost added would be generally calculated based on the product’s value. Hawley wants the tariffs on items imported from China in the event of a trade imbalance, meaning circumstances in which the value of imports from China exceeds the value of exports from the United States to that country. The problem — and this is something massively lost on Donald Trump himself — is that tariffs are generally paid by the ones doing the importing, meaning in this case American citizens and businesses.
Hawley’s introduction of the bill was last month. At least he doesn’t have the glaring problem seen with Trump, who has consistently — and erroneously — referred to money he supposedly brought in from China to support the domestic economy of the United States, evidently of the belief that the money raised by tariffs was from that country. The error is basic enough that it seriously calls into question even further how competent he is to do just about anything at all. Does he know which way is up? And yet, Trump remains generally on track for the Republican nomination for president for 2024. His multiple criminal cases have not shaken off the Republican Party’s support.
Hawley will actually be on the ballot next year, though his state generally trends towards the Republican Party. Primaries still need to happen, but he already has a prominent Democratic challenger, veteran Lucas Kunce.
