President Donald Trump’s White House pledged to continue its tariff campaign despite Republicans’ Nov. 3 midterm election losses, with a senior official arguing that import duties remain essential to rebuilding American manufacturing and protecting national security.
White House Doubles Down Despite Election Setbacks
“And we are just getting started,” Jim Goyer, director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, said on Tuesday at the B20 summit in Washington, according to a CNBC account. “Our ambition is to continue this pace for the remainder of the president’s term in office.”
Goyer defended tariffs as a way to rebuild domestic industry and secure supply chains. His remarks followed earlier expectations that Trump could expand tariffs after the elections, with Goldman Sachs economists projecting additional duties could outweigh congressional reversals.
Former Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn challenged that strategy at the summit. “Tariffs are a consumption tax on the U.S. consumer,” Cohn said, arguing that import levies raise household costs. Cohn, now IBM vice chairman, warned that tariff revenue overlooks “every hardworking American who happened to pay the tariff through some product that they bought.”
Polls And Inflation Add Pressure On Tariffs
A Reuters/Ipsos survey published on Tuesday found 62% of Americans supported repealing Trump’s tariffs. Separately, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday that consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, easing from September’s 0.6% increase, while core inflation held at 0.3%.
Research published by the New York Fed in August and revised in September estimated that 26% of the 2025 tariff increase passed through to consumer prices. Researchers said indirect effects could take nine to 12 months to reach shoppers.
Democrats Prepare Congressional Challenge Against Trump Tariffs
Democrats plan to target tariffs on Canadian imports after taking control of Congress in January, although overcoming Trump’s veto would require substantial Republican backing. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has argued that support for repealing those duties is “overwhelming.”
Meanwhile, United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE:UPS) CEO Carol Tomé told the summit that businesses are adjusting to changing trade patterns. “Supply chains are diversifying. Supply chains are regionalizing,” she said, according to the Chamber’s Tuesday account.
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