WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump met Wednesday with the CEOs of large retailers like Target and Best Buy, who have a built-in concern: They’re worried about a possible border tax on imported goods.
The president has provided scant details about his own tax overhaul, but said people will “love” his planned tax reforms. He assured retail CEOs Wednesday that tax rates would be lowered and simplified in a “massive” plan that “will be submitted in the not too distant future.”
Retailers called the hourlong meeting positive and productive, though they offered few details.
During the public portion of the meeting, Trump provided no insight as to whether he still intends to levy a border tax on imports. Trump has threatened a border tax in order to protect U.S. factory jobs. House Republicans have separately proposed a border adjustment tax system on imports that would help to lower overall corporate tax rates, a policy the Trump administration has at times dismissed and also considered as a viable way to help pay for wall on the southern border with Mexico.
Retailers have warned that forms of a border tax could raise prices as much as 20 percent for consumers on items from gas to food to clothing.