Steve Forbes, chair and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, told Newsmax on Wednesday that President Donald Trump must swiftly pressure Congress to pass the extension of his 2017 tax cuts to help soften the impact on the economy from his tariffs.
"The key thing now is he's got to push a huge, beautiful, big, fat tax cut rate — cuts far bigger than the Republicans want to do," Forbes, who is not a fan of tariffs, told "Rob Schmitt Tonight." "And the reason is, in his first term, they delayed [the tax cuts] a year because of trying to do healthcare.
"But they did the tariffs after they had the big tax cut. So you have a wind behind your back when you impose these temporary — hopefully, temporary — taxes.
"So if he gets the huge tax bill — and I hope he does it starting tomorrow, put the real pressure on, which he's capable of doing quite successfully — then I think the economy is going to have a have a real chance."
Trump on Tuesday implemented 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports and an additional 10% on Chinese imports to pressure them to stop the influx of fentanyl into the U.S. He also is planning on reciprocal tariffs equivalent to those charged against the U.S. by other nations.
"On the tariff thing, his people have to lay out to these countries exactly what is it that we want you to do," Forbes said. "[The Mexican] president [extradited to the U.S.] 29 people that they never would have dared do before. Cartel leaders back to the U.S.
"What is the list? Check, OK, we're seeing [them] make real progress. And don't do these 30-day extensions. If they're following the checklist, give them a year.
"Say, We realize some of these things take time, but you obviously audit it each month. But give them something that they can go on and go to their people and say, This is what we have to do," he said.
Forbes said the forces behind Trump's tariffs are stopping the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. and balancing the trade inequities with other countries.
"That's why on April 2, they're going to propose with some countries [reciprocal tariffs]," Forbes said. "India charges, say 15%. We charge 2%. How about equalizing [that and] getting India to come down and things like that.
"So this is a long-term thing. But, again, people have to know what the rules of the game are if they comply with them. And the other thing is, manufacturing will be helped not only by tax cuts, deregulation, but also [by] removing barriers so that we can sell more stuff overseas.
"And that's what [Trump is] trying to do, have equity [and] open borders for both sides. And if we get our act together — which he's doing in a way that is revolutionary, in terms of the time he's getting things done — then I think you will see America once again be the undisputed leader of the world, not by default, but because we're growing fast again," he said.
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