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President Donald Trump spoke out on the importance of tariffs on Wednesday, declaring that the charges on imported goods will make America wealthy again.
Trump shared the comments on his Truth Social profile alongside an image from Marc Andreessen’s X post on the topic.
“The Tariffs, and Tariffs alone, created this vast wealth for our Country. Then we switched over to Income Tax. We were never so wealthy as during this period. Tariffs will pay off our debt and, MAKE AMERICA WEALTHY AGAIN!” he wrote.
Andreessen’s post commented on a chart related to tariff revenue as a share of total federal receipts.
“This is a really remarkable chart of tariffs as % of total federal revenue. The Second Industrial Revolution, perhaps the most fertile era for technology development and deployment in human history, was 1870-1914,” Andreessen wrote.
The chart showed the stark difference between the years the U.S. enforced tariffs on imported goods compared with the post-World War II era when the practice declined.
Trump wrote following his presidential win in November that he plans to impose tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China on his first day in office.
Trump shared the news on his Truth Social account in multiple posts related to the topic.
“As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before. Right now a Caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, seems to be unstoppable in its quest to come through our currently Open Border. On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Trump wrote.
“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country! Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!” he continued.
Trump specifically addressed China in a second post, noting plans of a 10 percent tariff on goods from the nation.
“I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail. Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before,” Trump stated.
“Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.
