Americans are ultimately going to pay the price if the Trump administration imposes broad tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, a former U.S. trade representative told CNBC. Ron Kirk, who previously served as the United States Trade Representative and was a member of former U.S. President Barack Obama's Cabinet, explained that tariffs was just another term for taxes. "American businesses and American families are going to pay the price for this," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday. The tariffs would make foreign steel and aluminum relatively more expensive in the U.S. market. "(Historically) when we start down this road, the ultimate losers are consumers and businesses that have to buy these products," he added. "We do know the unintended consequences will be job losses in other industries." President Donald Trump, on Thursday, said that the United States will set a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports as early as next week. It will apply the tariffs broadly, without targeting specific countries, and will not impose quotas.

If you're going to play that card, we better be very careful how we do it because it would certainly invite every one of our other trading partners to act in the same way and hide behind the same veneer of protecting their national interest. Ron Kirk former U.S. Trade Representative

If the Trump administration goes ahead with its plan, it could help U.S. producers who have previously complained about unfair trade practices from foreign competitors, especially in China. But, it could also result in higher costs, and price increases that may fuel inflation and slow down the American economy. In February, the Commerce Department recommended imposing heavy tariffs or quotas on foreign producers of steel and aluminum in the interest of national security. Kirk explained that if every country tried to set import tariffs on national security grounds, it could lead to the collapse of the rules-based trading system. "If you're going to play that card, we better be very careful how we do it because it would certainly invite every one of our other trading partners to act in the same way and hide behind that same veneer of protecting their national interest," he said.

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