U.S. Rep. Jared Golden talks to voters at an October 2024 campaign event in Eastport, Maine. (Photo courtesy of Golden campaign)
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine reintroduced legislation to impose a 10% tariff on all imports, doubling down on his push as President-Elect Donald Trump, who has said he’d support such a tax, takes office next week.
“After decades of failed free trade agreements, the hollowing out of American industry and stagnating wages, we owe it to ourselves to ask real questions about what we prioritize in our economy,” Golden wrote in a statement on Thursday. “The universal tariff — along with other policies to support domestic energy production, unions and manufacturing — is designed to reorient our economy from one focused on cheap goods and consumption to one centered on production and innovation.”
Golden first released this legislation, known as the BUILT USA Act, last year during the 118th Congress. It would put a 10% tariff on all goods and services imported into the U.S. Each subsequent calendar year, the tax would increase or decrease by 5% depending on whether the U.S. is in a trade deficit or surplus, respectively.
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On the campaign trail this fall, Golden said a universal tariff will result in the U.S. having to prioritize domestic manufacturing, therefore creating more jobs and homegrown innovation. When reintroducing his tariff plan on Thursday, Golden pointed to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office last month that found a universal 10% tariff would raise $2.2 trillion in revenue through 2034.
Golden is advocating for those funds to be used to reduce the deficit, subsidize American-made products and extend tax cuts for middle-class families that are set to expire this year.
American Compass, a conservative think tank, and the Coalition for a Prosperous America, an advocacy group championing trade-protectionist policy, have voiced support for Golden’s proposal.
Tariffs are popular with voters while economists are, and long have been, skeptical of their merits.
When Golden first released this plan, political scientist Kristin Vekasi told Maine Morning Star that the complexity of the U.S. economy, the universal nature of Golden’s plan and the likelihood of retaliation from other countries would result in Americans being left to pick up the tab.
Vekasi pointed to the effects on Maine industries when Trump imposed heavy tariffs on China in 2018, which President Joe Biden continued and in some cases added to. Primary producers saw protection, but intermediary producers’ prices went way up.
Iconic Maine industries — lobster and blueberry — also faced retaliation from China and the European Union, which concerned the entirety of Maine’s congressional delegation.
Last year, Golden also proposed legislation to raise tariffs on Chinese imports of automobiles and energy components, another plan Trump has shared support for.