Thu Jan 16 05:20:00 UTC 2025: ## Trump Announces Plan for New “External Revenue Service” to Collect Foreign Tariffs

**WASHINGTON (AP) —** President-elect Donald Trump announced plans Tuesday to create a new agency, the External Revenue Service (ERS), tasked with collecting tariffs and other revenues from foreign countries. The announcement, made on Trump’s Truth Social platform, likened the ERS to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but focused on international revenue collection.

The creation of the ERS requires Congressional approval, which Trump is likely to secure given the Republican majority in both the House and Senate. This move contradicts Trump’s previous pledges to shrink the size of government, as the ERS would duplicate functions already performed by agencies like the Commerce Department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

This announcement comes as Trump’s “Save America” agenda, spearheaded by his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), pushes for significant federal workforce reductions, program cuts, and regulatory slashing. DOGE, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, aims to drastically reduce the size and scope of the federal government.

Trump’s economic platform, centered around potentially substantial tariffs (up to 25% on goods from allies and 60% on Chinese goods), has drawn criticism from economists who predict that these costs will be passed on to American consumers. They largely view tariffs as an inefficient method of revenue generation and economic stimulation.

Democratic lawmakers swiftly condemned the ERS proposal. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, stated that the plan represents a “multi-trillion-dollar tax hike on American families and small businesses” to fund further tax breaks for the wealthy.

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