Trump economic adviser defends tariffs: Not a ‘big effect’ on US consumer

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett defended President Trump’s sweeping global tariffs that have stoked concerns about the United States economy.

During a Sunday interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Hassett said he doesn’t believe there will be a “big effect on the consumer in the U.S.,” noting that more than 50 countries are also “coming to the table” to negotiate.

“So the fact is, the countries are angry and retaliating — and, by the way, coming to the table,” he said. “I got a report from the [U.S. trade representative] last night that more than 50 countries have reached out to the president to begin a negotiation, but they’re doing that because they understand that they bear a lot of the tariff.”

“I don’t think that you’re going to see a big effect on the consumer in the U.S., because I do think that the reason why we have a persistent long-run trade deficit is these people have very inelastic supply,” Hassett added.

Hassett is defending Trump’s general 10 percent tariff on goods imported to the U.S., along with other targeted tariffs on various U.S. trading partners. After Trump announced the tariffs, the markets plummeted. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2,200 points, and the S&P 500 lost 10 percent over the course of two days. 

The president has vehemently defended the tariffs, saying on Saturday that the end result will serve as an “economic revolution.”

“HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic,” he wrote on Truth Social. “We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”