President-elect Donald Trump said he is going to create an “External Revenue Service” designed to focus on revenue capture from foreign countries through tariffs.
Trump made the announcement on his social media platform on Tuesday. The proposal is a contrast to the Internal Revenue Service, which is the government’s tax collection agency and has faced harsh scrutiny from Republicans.
“Through soft and pathetically weak Trade agreements, the American Economy has delivered growth and prosperity to the World, while taxing ourselves,” Trump said. “It is time for that to change. I am today announcing that I will create the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE to collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources.”
“We will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying, FINALLY, their fair share. January 20, 2025, will be the birth date of the External Revenue Service,” he added.
Exactly how the ERS would function, whether it would be an individual agency, and how the plan would change how tariffs are collected are open questions. The Washington Examiner reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.
Currently, there is already a tariff infrastructure in place within the Commerce Department, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and Customs and Border Protection.
While Trump’s tariffs during his first term were targeted and largely focused on steel and aluminum as well as China, he campaigned to implement 10% to 20% across-the-board tariffs.
Additionally, Trump has already announced some new tariffs. On social media, Trump said that he would put tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada right after he entered office. He said that the 25% tariffs are designed to coerce the two countries into stopping the flow of narcotics and illegal immigrants into the U.S.
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Trump’s plan to create an ERS is already getting pushback from Democrats.
“No 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,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), the top Democratic tax writer in the Senate, said.