WASHINGTON: Donald Trump defended Monday his proposal of a universal 10 percent tariff on imports, suggesting tax cuts could help offset its impact on households while outlining his views on other economic issues.

The Republican challenger to US President Joe Biden in November’s presidential election told CNBC in an interview that “taxes could be cut” when asked about the potential negative repercussions of such levies.

Worries include a distortion to global trade and higher costs for US families.

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But Trump maintained that he is a “big believer in tariffs.”

The former president’s remarks came after he and Biden cruised to victories in the Super Tuesday primary elections last week, setting up an almost certain rerun of the 2020 race.

Besides taking aim at Beijing, Trump claimed Monday that the European Union “rips us almost as bad as China, but they do it with a smile.”

In his last presidential term, Trump slapped high tariffs on goods including steel and aluminum from countries – targeting Chinese products but also sweeping EU exports in the process, triggering retaliation from the close US ally.

Washington and Beijing exchanged tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of two-way trade during the time, in a spat that threatened to throttle the global economy.

On Monday, Trump also noted there has been “a lot of use” of cryptocurrencies, adding “I’m not sure that I’d want to take it away.”