Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) on Sunday defended President Trump’s decision to levy 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, as well as 10 percent on Chinese exports to the U.S.
In an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” Schmitt said Trump outlined his tariff plan on the campaign trail and proved during his first term that his approach to foreign policy and tariffs works.
“We’ve got a president that wants to put America first and protect people,” Schmitt said. “We have 100,000 people a year, Kristen, dying from fentanyl.”
“He ran on this. This is not a surprise. He talked about getting operational control of our border. He talked about tariffs and improving our standing in the world. He’s doing all those things,” Schmitt continued.
Schmitt said Trump’s strategy has already proven to yield some success, pointing to last week’s standoff with Colombia, which ultimately agreed to accept a plane of deported migrants from the U.S. after Trump threatened tariffs.
“And look no further. The best evidence of this was last week. Colombia came to the table after that threat and agreed to take criminals back to their country and illegal immigrants. So the fact of the matter is, it works. It worked the first time, when he was in office. We didn’t see inflation. We saw wage growth, and we saw more onshoring of jobs back here to the United States,” Schmitt said.
The president on Saturday signed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China that are set to go into effect on Tuesday. Canadian energy imports will only be tariffed at 10 percent. The orders Trump signed do not contain exceptions, and they include a clause that warns Trump may increase the tariffs if each country retaliates.
The move led to swift responses from all three nations.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday night that Canada would impose 25 percent tariffs on more than $100 billion of U.S. goods. Trudeau’s likely successor, Pierre Poilievre, called Trump’s tariffs “unjust and unjustified” and called for a “dollar-for-dollar” response.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a post to X in Spanish that her team was working on a response that included measures to defend her country’s interests, though specific steps were not immediately clear.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said it would file a legal case against the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
