Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that tariffs the Trump administration imposed on China “serves no strategic purpose and raise costs to consumers.”
Anchor George Stephanopoulos said, “Several in Congress are calling for gas tax holidays. Is that on the table?”
Yellen said, “Well, look, you know, President Biden wants to do anything he possibly can to help consumers. Gas prices have risen a great deal, and it’s clearly burdening households, so he stands ready to work with Congress, and that’s an idea that certainly worth considering.
Stephanopoulos said, “How about lifting — this is separate from gas prices, but for broader consumers spending, how about lifting the tariffs on imports?”
Yellen said, “President Biden is reviewing tariff policy toward China. He inherited a set of tariffs from the Trump administration, many of which were put on as retaliation for China’s failure to respond to abuses that weren’t covered in an investigation. We all recognize that China engages in a range of unfair trade practices that it’s important to address, but the tariffs we inherited. Some serve no strategic purpose and raise costs to consumers, and so we reconfiguring some of those tariffs and reduce unnecessary burdens is something that’s under consideration.
Stephanopoulos said, “We should expect that soon?”
Yellen added, “It’s under consideration. I don’t want to get ahead of where the policy process is.”
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