Sen. Ruben Gallego criticizes Trump for deploying tariffs in ‘haphazard manner’

PHOENIX — Arizona U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego said Thursday there’s a smart way to deploy tariffs — and then there’s the way President Donald Trump is using them.

“When you’re just trying to do these things in such a haphazard manner … you’re going to cause a lot of disruption, and that’s what you’re seeing on the stock market right now,” Gallego told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show.

On Wednesday, Trump unveiled widespread new tariffs on most U.S. trade partners, touting the policy as a way to boost domestic manufacturing and restore fairness to global trade. The announcement sent domestic and international stock markets reeling on Thursday.

Ruben Gallego says tariffs can be an effective tool

“Tariffs are a tool. It can be used in a very smart way for our industrial and economic policies, but you have to do it effectively,” Gallego said.

For example, he pointed to the way the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was renegotiated into the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) during Trump’s first term, when Gallego was in the U.S. House.

“That was done in a manner that I think ended up benefiting the United States and our partners north and south of us,” he said.

The Phoenix Democrat said the new tariffs will act as a tax increase on American consumers.

“It’s going to end up having a big impact when it comes to people being able to afford everyday goods, and I think we’re all going to end up being a poorer country for it,” he said.

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