CNN
The United States imports about $3 trillion worth of goods each year. The specter of tariffs can create real leverage with nations whose economies would be crushed if they suddenly couldn’t sell goods to Americans because Trump just imposed a 100% tariff on them.
“If we couldn’t trade with Mexico, we would survive. But it would be the end of the world for Mexico. That does give us leverage. And leverage is everything when you’re negotiating,” Stephen Moore, a former senior economic adviser during Trump’s first term, told CNN in a phone interview.
Moore, who used to unabashedly favor free trade, said Trump convinced him that tariffs can be used as a negotiating tool.
President-elect Donald Trump views tariffs as a not-so-secret weapon — one that can be deployed to pressure friends and foes alike to address issues from drug trafficking and illegal immigration to threats to the dominance of the US dollar.
amp.cnn.com