Steve Cortes, former senior spokesman and strategist for the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns and current head of the League of American Workers, said President Donald Trump’s reciprocal trade plan is “much needed” and will work in the long run to create “tremendous prosperity,” particularly for working-class Americans.
On Wednesday, Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” agenda, which includes the U.S. charging 10 percent baseline tariffs on nearly all goods imported from other countries, reciprocal tariffs on nearly 90 countries that have the highest trade deficits with the U.S., and a 25 percent tax on all imported vehicles.
Cortes said the president’s tariffs are “economically right and justified,” given that tariffs have been used historically to “raise revenues” and “protect American industries and American workers.”
“President Trump now picks up this legacy and realizes that we are not going to be abused. The American consumer market is the crown jewel of the world. Every country, every company on Earth wants access to the American consumer market. We can and we should charge a premium, effectively. Think of it as if it’s a sporting event or a concert, the best seats go for the highest prices. We can charge a premium…We also must retaliate against these countries that have treated us so unfairly that have not been reciprocal or fair in their trade relationships with the United States,” Cortes explained on Wednesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Cortes continued, explaining how Trump’s “sensible trade barriers” open the opportunity for the U.S. to become the powerhouse manufacturing nation it once was, before jobs were offshored and shipped overseas for cheap labor.
“We cannot be a great nation unless we’re a nation that knows how to make things…During COVID, when a lot of international trade was suspended, we found out just how dependent we are in a very unhealthy way on foreign countries and foreign companies to supply our critical needs,” Cortes explained.
“The numbers and the economics matter tremendously, of course, but what did it do to us as a society? What did it do to families and communities? People in this country need productive work, and that includes the tangible making of things again in the United States – the kinds of people who work, not just with their minds, but also with their hands. The kinds of people who perhaps have to take a shower after work because that’s the kind of labor that they engage in all day. That is worthy work, it’s work that should be facilitated and encouraged again in this country rather than demeaned and offshored to slave labor or quasi slave labor in China,” Cortes added.
Looking ahead, Cortes said the transition period from moving away from the “globalism” model of the U.S. being “abused” by other nations through trade would involve “a lot of consternation,” however, they said the transition will be “worthwhile” in the long run.
“It’s not easy. After decades of that previous rotten system, transitioning to a new model is not necessarily easy, but I do think it’s worthwhile…I do think for the near term, there’s a price to be paid, what I mean by prices is slightly higher prices. I think it is absolutely worth it in the long run, and I think once the onshoring comes back to the United States and the productivity of the United States is unleashed, in fact, those price increases will be very temporary,” Cortes said.
“I think there are some near term costs. We’ve seen that in financial markets, but I also think that the alternative is totally unacceptable. The alternative is saying ‘We’re going to stay with the status quo, we’re going to continue to be a country that does not make things and is dependent upon Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party that is beholden to foreign supply lines for the critical goods we need just to operate our society.’ I think that’s an absolutely unacceptable choice,” Cortes added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
