President Trump on Thursday officially announced steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, defying his own party and delivering on a campaign promise to fight what he sees as unfair practices by U.S. trading partners.
Trump signed paperwork enacting tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum during a hastily arranged event at the White House.
“Today, I am defending America’s national security by placing tariffs on foreign imports of steel and aluminum,” Trump said in the Roosevelt Room, flanked by steel and aluminum workers.
Trump called the struggles of domestic steel and aluminum industry a “travesty.”
“This has been an assault on our country,” he said.
The president temporarily exempted Canada and Mexico from the tariffs, arguing his administration would continue talks with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners. Trump has separately discussed withdrawing the United States from NAFTA.
Trump alluded earlier there could be additional carve-outs for Australia, though it’s unclear what that will entail.
“We’ll be doing something with them,” the president said during a Cabinet meeting. “We’ll be doing something with some other countries.”
White House officials said that all other countries will be able to make their case as to why they should be exempt from the tariffs and what they will do to shore up their national security relationship with the United States.
The president will have the discretion to add or subtract countries and raise and lower the tariffs at any time, a senior administration official said.
Republican lawmakers, business groups and overseas allies spent all week trying to persuade the president to scrap or curtail the tariffs, worrying that they could spark a global trade war.
But Trump could not be convinced, determined to deliver on his campaign promise to take a tougher approach on trade.
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#BREAKING: Trump orders steep tariffs on aluminum and steel imports despite GOP opposition https://t.co/Mx3n3oclqj pic.twitter.com/qcyPspTkgQ
— The Hill (@thehill) March 8, 2018
“The president will have the discretion to add or subtract countries and raise and lower the tariffs at any time, a senior administration official said.”
His family will be very busy “dealing” with this part all over the world.
Ben Sasse responds to Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs: “We’re on the verge of a painful and stupid trade war” pic.twitter.com/dHyPhxe09G
— Haley Byrd (@byrdinator) March 8, 2018
So we will all pay through the nose for goods — not just those made with steel and aluminum — all so macho man can feed his oversized ego.
Of course, his fans and unions such as the AFL-CIO think tariffs are such a great idea. Wait till they find out how much more expensive things will be…and that, contrary to what they believe, those tariffs will not bring back jobs to the US.
I released the following statement today after President Trump signed an order imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum pic.twitter.com/VReNhdFpK9
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) March 8, 2018
“This is the president’s vision,” said Peter Navarro, Trump’s ascendant trade adviser. “My function, really, as an economist is to try to provide the underlying analytics that confirm his intuition. And his intuition is always right in these matters” https://t.co/2ftXcsjLBc pic.twitter.com/ifJaowXqLr
— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) March 9, 2018
Just to hammer on this a bit more: this is what gives experts a bad name. When we don't give the boss our candid assessment, we fail both him and the society we work for in a broader sense. This is not expertise, it's toadying, and other experts should call it out. https://t.co/K7x2WyXOL3
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 9, 2018
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