Story highlights Douglas Holtz-Eakin: Trump reportedly mulling a 10% tariff on imports. That would clash with growth, raise consumer prices

Trump team floats more promising idea for "border adjustment tax" that would incentivize firms to keep jobs at home

Douglas Holtz-Eakin is the president of the American Action Forum. He is a former director of the Congressional Budget Office and former chief economist of the President's Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. He was the top economic adviser to Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) Comments from Donald Trump or his transition team tend to spur frenzied efforts to figure out the President-elect's policy intentions. So new rumors over his trade policies are hardly a surprise.

CNN reports the team is "discussing a proposal" for early executive action against foreign imports, according to multiple sources. Specifically, a "proposal to impose tariffs as high as 10% on imports."

Douglas Holtz-Eakin

That would be a step away from Trump's commitment to spur growth, wages and jobs in the United States. While it's true that some American workers and industries suffer from international competition, the economy as a whole is stronger and more productive when engaged in trade.

And the country's future prosperity demands that we reach out to the 95% of the world's consumers who live outside our borders. Raising tariff walls, hiding behind isolationist barriers, is a recipe for Japanese-style stagnation.

Here's another blunt reality. A 10% import tariff would be simply a tax that would raise consumer prices for every American family. It would clash directly with Trump's supposed commitment to lower taxes and grow families' budgets.

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