President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out the possibility that his proposed tariffs against the country's three top trading partners will raise prices for American families, saying, "I can't guarantee anything."
During a wide-ranging interview with NBC's "Meet the Press," host Kristen Welker noted that Trump campaigned on a pledge to lowering inflation and confronted him with the fact most economists say consumers ultimately "pay the price of tariffs."
"I don't believe that," he responded in comments broadcast Sunday.
Welker then asked Trump if he could guarantee American families wouldn't pay more for goods from China, Mexico and Canada.
"I can't guarantee anything. I can't guarantee tomorrow," he said.
Trump also called himself a "big believer in tariffs."
"I think tariffs are the most beautiful word. I think they're beautiful. It's going to make us rich," he claimed.
Last month, Trump said he would impose impose a 25% tariff on all goods coming from Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10% tariff on goods coming from China.
Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the move could cost about 400,000 U.S. jobs, citing figures from American automakers with factories in Mexico, and an executive at Edmunds, which tracks car prices, cautioned it could "tank the industry."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to Florida late last month to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach and the has Chinese Embassy warned that "no one will win a trade war."
