It is a fallacy to think that tariffs will help the country’s economy, Sen. Rand Paul told The Hill's "Rising" on Wednesday.
The Kentucky Republican's comments came as President Donald Trump readied to implement massive reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners.
Paul, a known critic of tariffs, called them “a tax.”
The senator explained his position opposing the president’s strategy, stating that “on tariffs, I think it’s just economically — it’s a fallacy to think that it’ll help the country. Tariffs are a tax, and if you tax trade or if you tax anything, you’ll get less of it.”
Paul stressed to The Hill the point that "we know by looking at the history of the last — at least 70 years or so in this country, that as international trade has increased, so has the prosperity of our country.”
On Wednesday, Trump pressured Paul and other Republican senators not to vote for a resolution from Democrats to block his emergency declaration to impose tariffs on Canada.