President-Elect Donald Trump has floated the idea of using tariffs to support the policies implemented in its upcoming administration’s efforts to fix the U.S. economy. On social media, he remarked on the effect of tariffs on the accumulation of wealth and prosperity achieved by the country during the early nineteenth century.

Answering a post by venture capitalist Marc Andreessen that showed the percentage of tariffs as a share of all federal receipts, Trump stated:

The tariffs, and tariffs alone, created this vast wealth for our country. Then we switched over to income tax.

Furthermore, he insisted on using tariffs’ proceeds to fund the eventual payment of the U.S. national debt. “We were never so wealthy as during this period. Tariffs will pay off our debt and, MAKE AMERICA WEALTHY AGAIN!,” he concluded.

Trump has referred to eliminating income taxes in favor of tariffs, returning to the regime implemented in the nineteenth century. In October, at a barbershop encounter aired by Fox, he also touched on the subject: “When we were a smart country, in the 1890s … this is when the country was relatively the richest it ever was. It had all tariffs. It didn’t have an income tax,” he assessed at the moment.

Read more: Donald Trump Proposes Elimination of US Income Tax, Introduction of Tariffs

Trump has threatened several countries with establishing a high tariff regime. He announced a blanket hike of 10% tariffs against China and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada.

Read more: Trade War: As Trump Threatens China With 10% Tariffs, Asian Giant Prepares Countermeasures

Nonetheless, not all agree on the idea of income tax tariff substitution, and there is also the risk of starting a trade war as countries move to retaliate by establishing U.S.-unfriendly tariff regimes. China, Mexico, and Canada have already hinted at these proceedings, though the measures have yet to be implemented.

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