Key Trump economy adviser resigns
US President Donald Trump received the resignation of his top economic adviser and more pushback toward his plan for across-the-board tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum on Tuesday.
Gary Cohn, head of White House National Economic Council, had said he would resign, a move that came after he lost a fight over Trump’s plans for hefty steel and aluminum import tariffs.
Cohn has been the leading internal opponent to Trump’s planned tariffs and his departure became the latest in a series of high-profile departures from the White House, including the communications director Hope Hicks and chief strategist Steve Bannon.
The president said he planned to move forward with special tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, contending the US has long been “mistreated” in trade deals. But congressional Republicans and industry groups pressed Trump to narrow his plan for across-the-board tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum with the warning of economic fallout.
Republicans in Congress and within Trump’s administration said industries and their workers who need steel and aluminum for their products would be hurt by Trump’s threatened tariffs. They said US citizens would face higher costs for new cars, appliances and buildings if the president follows through on his threat and other nations retaliate.
The announcement has triggered widespread concerns about a possible trade war, retaliation from US trading partners and raising costs for US industries that depend on the imports.
Visiting Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven pushed back in a joint news conference with Trump at the White House on Tuesday.
The European Union, of which Sweden is a member, has vowed to retaliate if Trump imposes tariffs on their steel and aluminum. The EU has proposed retaliatory tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles from Wisconsin, bourbon from Kentucky and other products from areas that voted for Trump.
Mexico threatened on Tuesday to retaliate against Trump’s planned steel and aluminum tariffs by hitting the most “politically sensitive” US exports with tariffs of its own, the latest signal of a brewing trade war.
Trump announced last week that he would sign measures this week for a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports, based on a Section 232 investigation under the US Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which determined the imports pose a national security threat.
AP contributed to this story.
Contact the writers at liuxuan@chinadaily.com.cn.