President-elect on Tuesday announced plans to create a new agency called the External Revenue Service to collect tariffs and other revenues from foreign nations.
91ƵWe will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying,91Ƶ Trump said Tuesday on his social media site, Truth Social. He compared his planned creation to the , which is the nation91Ƶs domestic tax collector.
The creation of a new agency requires an act of Congress, and Republicans hold the majority of both the House and the Senate.
Trump, who has vowed to shrink the size of government, would be creating a new agency to do functions already handled by existing agencies, including the Commerce Department and the , which collect duties and revenues from other nations.
The president-elect has tapped two business titans to lead his , a nongovernmental task force assigned to find ways to , cut programs and slash federal regulations, all part of what he calls his 91ƵSave America91Ƶ agenda for a second term in the White House.
Billionaire and fellow entrepreneur are leading the DOGE91Ƶs ambitious efforts to reduce the size and scope of the federal government.
Tariffs, with the threat of a potential 25% levy on all goods from allies like Canada and Mexico and 60% on goods from China, have become a benchmark of Trump91Ƶs economic agenda as he heads into his second term.
Economists have said the cost of the tariffs , and are generally skeptical of them, considering them a mostly inefficient way for governments to raise money and promote prosperity.
Democratic lawmakers were quick to criticize the External Revenue Service plan.
91ƵNo amount of silly rebranding will hide the fact that Trump is planning a multi-trillion-dollar tax hike on American families and small businesses to pay for another round of tax handouts to the rich,91Ƶ Oregon Sen. , the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement.