STORY: U.S. tariff policies to burden U.S. consumers: U.S. economist
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Feb. 23, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:53
LOCATION: Washington D.C.
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Washington D.C. street scenes
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JEFFREY SACHS, Economics professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University
3. various of supermarket scenes in the U.S.
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JEFFREY SACHS, Economics professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University
5. various of Tianjin Port, China
6. various of the U.S.
7. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JEFFREY SACHS, Economics professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University
8. various of exteriors of the U.S. Department of Treasury

STORYLINE:

U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs has warned that additional tariffs would burden U.S. consumers and weaken the world economy.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JEFFREY SACHS, Economics professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University
"When we say that the system is becoming more protectionist, it's because of the United States. So this is plain and simple.
I don't think this (tariff) is a good idea economically. I don't think it really will do what Trump says, that it will help the U.S. economy, that it will help U.S. workers, I think it will actually impede the world economy. It will create higher costs. It will burden U.S. consumers."

He said trade barriers could harm world efficiency and the global supply system.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JEFFREY SACHS, Economics professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University
"We know that trade barriers, if they start spreading all over the world, if the World Trade Organization breaks down, it is a big shock to the world efficiency and supply system. It's not, per se, highly inflationary. It is a reduction of efficiency. So it's a loss of output, a loss of the benefits of international trade."

He called on the U.S. administration to rethink the tariff policies.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JEFFREY SACHS, Economics professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University
"If in the end, the U.S. fails to convince other countries to join this kind of hostility or protectionism, then what will happen is the United States is going to have to decide, is it going to isolate itself? And of course, I believe this whole approach needs to be rethought. We need good, open economic relations, and so the whole approach of these tensions is wrong."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Washington D.C.
(XHTV)