Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum contended that President Donald Trump‘s tariffs on other countries are meant to bring “foreign investment” back to the United States.
Many Democratic lawmakers have criticized the president for his tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China, suggesting that they will only raise the cost of living for U.S. residents. Burgum, in his first interview since becoming interior secretary, was perplexed by these claims, noting that many of these Democrats also supported the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which he joked should have been named “the Inflation Creation Act” for creating the highest inflation “in 40 years.”
“It’s the spending that drives inflation,” Burgum explained on Fox News’s Fox & Friends. “This is an economic developer’s dream. As a state, if you said ‘wow, we are going to tariff foreign products and we’re going to have no tariffs at home, we’re going to lower energy prices at home, we are going to bring manufacturing and jobs back.’ If you’re trying to attract foreign investment in this country, there’s never been a better time to do it than right now.”
Burgum then previewed his first steps as secretary, which will include issuing secretarial orders similar to presidential executive orders, that he will issue to mirror what Trump wants out of the country. The secretary added that the Interior Department controls 25% of oil and gas production on public lands, creating revenue for the U.S. “when we do this right.”
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The interior secretary also assured that Trump’s tariffs are not meant to start a trade war with Canada, Mexico, and China, citing how the main purpose is to stop the illegal flow of fentanyl into the U.S. He added that Trump has “thoughtfully” considered the effect these tariffs could have on U.S. residents, as Canadian energy resources will be met with a 10% tariff compared to the 25% that Canadian goods have been given.
Vice President JD Vance and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have also argued that these tariffs are meant to target fentanyl, with the vice president explaining that the U.S. is “done being taken advantage of.” Meanwhile, Graham has predicted that these tariffs will “go away” if Mexico and China “stop poisoning Americans” by preventing illegal fentanyl from entering the U.S.
