Luke Vargas

President Trump says he has settled on a plan for his latest batch of tariffs due to be announced tomorrow, but for now is keeping those plans close to the vest.

President Trump says he has settled on a plan for his latest batch of tariffs due to be announced tomorrow, but for now is keeping those plans close to the vest.

Among the options he's been weighing is whether to apply a universal tariff of up to 20 percent on all imports or take a so-called reciprocal tariff approach that would levy individual tariff rates on specific countries subject to negotiation. As we await details, we spoke to someone with a strong sense about why Trump and his allies are leaning so hard on a tariff strategy.

Among the options he's been weighing is whether to apply a universal tariff of up to 20 percent on all imports or take a so-called reciprocal tariff approach that would levy individual tariff rates on specific countries subject to negotiation. As we await details, we spoke to someone with a strong sense about why Trump and his allies are leaning so hard on a tariff strategy.

Oren Kass is the founder of the conservative populist think tank American Compass, which since its establishment in 2020 has become the most influential group on Capitol Hill among the pro-Trump policy movement that calls itself the New Right. He's also a longtime friend of Vice President J.D. Vance and And I began by asking him to summarize the various use cases for tariffs.

Oren Kass is the founder of the conservative populist think tank American Compass, which since its establishment in 2020 has become the most influential group on Capitol Hill among the pro-Trump policy movement that calls itself the New Right. He's also a longtime friend of Vice President J.D. Vance and And I began by asking him to summarize the various use cases for tariffs.

Is there a risk of maybe muddling the message if you're using tariffs so broadly? It sounds like you see all of those as legitimate uses, but do you need to be clear about why you're wielding each particular tariff?

Is there a risk of maybe muddling the message if you're using tariffs so broadly? It sounds like you see all of those as legitimate uses, but do you need to be clear about why you're wielding each particular tariff?

I mean, I guess we'll see if we hear that articulated and then how countries respond to that. For now, though, Oren, we've seen a good deal of frustration over U.S. policy. Is there a risk that that frustration gets so severe that it leads countries to pursue, I don't know, closer economic relations with China maybe in a way that would truly hurt the U.S. in the long run?

I mean, I guess we'll see if we hear that articulated and then how countries respond to that. For now, though, Oren, we've seen a good deal of frustration over U.S. policy. Is there a risk that that frustration gets so severe that it leads countries to pursue, I don't know, closer economic relations with China maybe in a way that would truly hurt the U.S. in the long run?

Is that something worth being concerned about?

Is that something worth being concerned about?

On those costs, you've argued before that tariffs are too often judged by economists along the lines of their impact on GDP or corporate profits or equity prices, which we are seeing done now, though these policies will obviously be felt by and judged by individual Americans. The president has described people potentially feeling a little disturbance.

On those costs, you've argued before that tariffs are too often judged by economists along the lines of their impact on GDP or corporate profits or equity prices, which we are seeing done now, though these policies will obviously be felt by and judged by individual Americans. The president has described people potentially feeling a little disturbance.

The Treasury secretary saying the economy could be in for a detox. I'm curious how you'd describe it.

The Treasury secretary saying the economy could be in for a detox. I'm curious how you'd describe it.

Can you unstick Americans from the cheap prices of some of the things we've gotten used to, particularly importing from China and elsewhere? That does seem like a tough nut to crack.

Can you unstick Americans from the cheap prices of some of the things we've gotten used to, particularly importing from China and elsewhere? That does seem like a tough nut to crack.

Oren Kass is the founder and chief economist at the think tank American Compass. Oren, thanks for being with us on What's News. My pleasure. Thank you. Coming up, we've got the rest of the day's headlines, including an exclusive journal report on Mark Zuckerberg's bid to enlist the president in pushing back on EU regulations. We've got that story and much more after the break.

Oren Kass is the founder and chief economist at the think tank American Compass. Oren, thanks for being with us on What's News. My pleasure. Thank you. Coming up, we've got the rest of the day's headlines, including an exclusive journal report on Mark Zuckerberg's bid to enlist the president in pushing back on EU regulations. We've got that story and much more after the break.