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The remarks show Trump, who championed tariffs as a foreign policy multi-tool during his first term in office, is considering a drastically more protectionist trade agenda if he defeats President Joe Biden in November.
Spokespeople for Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment. Trump in a Truth Social post later Thursday morning said there was "lots discussed, all positive" in the meeting, without providing any more details.
Trump's remark about replacing income taxes with tariffs quickly drew critics.
"Broadly substituting tariffs for income tax is a sure way to hit hard low and middle income Americans and reward top," New York University School of Law professor David Kamin wrote on X.
Washington Post op-ed columnist Catherine Rampell noted that since tens of millions of Americans who pay no federal income taxes would presumably fall under Trump's tariff plan, "this sounds like a huge tax increase on the lower/middle income classes."
