Treasury Secretary Says Section 301 Tariffs Hurt Consumers in Some Cases

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in a recent interview with The New York Times, suggested that the cost of Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports wasn't worth the concessions wrung from China in the phase one deal. “Tariffs are taxes on consumers. In some cases it seems to me what we did hurt American consumers, and the type of deal that the prior administration negotiated really didn’t address in many ways the fundamental problems we have with China,” she told the Times.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has said that she's not eager to lose the leverage the tariffs provide, though she also has said the administration is undertaking a thorough review of its China policy. Yellen was critical of the previous administration's trade war, but also said she was not speaking for the administration in saying that. “My own personal view is that tariffs were not put in place on China in a way that was very thoughtful with respect to where there are problems and what is the U.S. interest,” she said.