GOP Rep Mo Brooks: ‘I Would Like to See Us Impose a Tariff on Chinese Products’

In an interview with Huntsville, AL CBS affiliate WHNT, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) said he would like to see a tariff imposed on Chinese goods to finance tax cuts proposed by President Donald Trump.

Brooks expressed his skepticism about the Trump’s tax policy given there is nothing in writing with details and said he had expressed that sentiment in a conversation the White House’s Kellyanne Conway.

In his interview with WHNT’s Brian Lawson, he made an argument for tariffs as part of tax policy and called the status quo “unfair.”

“I would like to see us impose a tariff on Chinese products because of the unfair playing field right now,” Brooks said. “We use that tariff on Chinese products as the pay-for for tax cuts — most particularly for lower-income and middle-income American citizens.”

“We need to start being much more proactive, and one of the ways to be proactive is to impose tariffs on Chinese products so that Americans can better compete without having to be against the Chinese government,” he added.

The Alabama Republican went on to say that he made that pitch to Conway as well.

“I mentioned that to Kellyanne Conway, who works in the White House,” Brooks said. “Maybe the White House will carry that ball and advance it.”

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor

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