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U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address after being sworn in as the the 47th president of the United States in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.In his inaugural speech, President Donald Trump laid out four ways he plans to bring America and its economy into a "golden age."
Speaking at the Capitol Rotunda Monday, Trump laid out his new administration's "America First" economic agenda focusing on fighting inflation, promoting oil drilling instead of green energy, taxing foreign trade and deporting unauthorized immigrants.
"The golden age of America begins right now," he said. "From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We'll be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will very simply put America first."
Trump repeated key economic themes of his presidential campaign, and outlined ways he plans to bring them about.
Tariffs on Foreign Trade
Trump said he would establish an "External Revenue Service," a counterpart to the IRS, that would collect tariffs on goods imported from other countries. Those duties are currently handled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security. The new department could be a busy one, since Trump has pledged to impose high tariffs on foreign trade, including on Mexico, Canada, and China.
"We are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties and revenues," he said. "It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury coming from foreign sources."
Many economists say the cost of tariffs is not external at all, since merchants typically pass the cost of import taxes on to U.S. consumers. Forecasters have predicted Trump's tariffs will stoke inflation, should he go through with implementing them.
Establishing a new federal agency would require Congress to pass a law doing so.
Fighting Inflation
Voter anger over inflation under the presidency of Joe Biden was a major factor in Trump's victory over former Vice President Kamala Harris in November, and Trump said he would use the power of his office to bring it down.
"I will direct all members of my cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation and rapidly bring down costs and prices," he said.
As of December, the cost of living had increased 2.9% over 12 months as measured by the Consumer Price Index, higher than pre-pandemic levels and the Federal Reserve's goal of 2% annual inflation but well below the 9.1% rate in June 2022, which had been a four-decade high (though not an all-time record).