Trump floats ‘all tariff policy’ to replace income tax, sources say

KEY POINTS

• Donald Trump discussed the idea of imposing an “all tariff policy” that would ultimately enable the U.S. to get rid of the income tax, sources told CNBC.

• Trump also talked about using tariffs to leverage negotiating power over bad actors, according to another source in the room.

• Trump championed tariffs during his first term in the White House.

Donald Trump on Thursday brought up the idea of imposing an “all tariff policy” that would ultimately enable the U.S. to get rid of the income tax, sources in a private meeting with the Republican presidential candidate told CNBC.

Trump, in the meeting with GOP lawmakers at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C., also talked about using tariffs to leverage negotiating power over bad actors, according to another source in the room.

The remarks show Trump, who championed tariffs as a foreign policy multi-tool during his first term in office, is considering a drastically more protectionist trade agenda if he defeats President Joe Biden in November.

Spokespeople for Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

Trump’s swing through Capitol Hill to meet with Republican lawmakers and business leaders marked his first return to the area since Jan. 6, 2021, when the then-president urged his supporters to march to the U.S. Capitol to protest his 2020 loss to Biden.

Trump was later impeached in the House for inciting the violent mob that stormed the Capitol and temporarily halted the peaceful transfer of presidential power.