Caught steeling
Ryan comes out against ‘worrying’ tariff plan
WASHINGTON — In a remarkably public confrontation, House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republican allies of President Trump pleaded with him Monday to back away from his threatened international tariffs, which they fear could spark a dangerous trade war.
“We’re not backing down,” Trump retorted.
The President said Canada and Mexico would not be spared from his plans for special import taxes on steel and aluminum, but he held out the possibility of later exempting the longstanding friends if they agree to better terms for the U.S. in talks aimed at revising the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“We’ve had a very bad deal with Mexico; we’ve had a very bad deal with Canada. It’s called NAFTA,” he declared.
Trump spoke shortly after a spokeswoman for Ryan, a Trump ally, said the GOP speaker (photo near right) was “extremely worried” that the proposed tariffs would set off a trade war and urged the White House “to not advance with this plan.”
Likewise, Republican leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee circulated a letter opposing Trump’s plan, and GOP congressional leaders suggested they may attempt to prevent the tariffs if the President moves forward.
Trump’s pledge to implement tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports has roiled financial markets, angered foreign allies and created unusual alliances for a President who blasted unfavorable trade deals during his 2016 campaign.
Union leaders and Democratic lawmakers from Rust Belt states have praised the planned tariffs, joining with advocates within the administration including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro.
But the President has been opposed internally by Defense Secretary James Mattis and White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, who warned against penalizing U.S. allies and undercutting the economic benefits of the President’s sweeping tax overhaul.
Ryan’s office said, “The new tax reform law has boosted the economy, and we certainly don’t want to jeopardize those gains.”
Asked about the public rebuke, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “Look, we have a great relationship with Speaker Ryan. We’re going to continue to have one, but that doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything.”
Canada is the United States’ No. 1 foreign supplier of both steel and aluminum. Mexico is the No. 4 supplier of steel and No. 7 for aluminum.
Congressional Republicans say any tariffs should be narrow in scope, and they privately warned that Trump’s effort could hurt the party’s hopes to preserve its majority in the fall elections. As the President dug in on his position, any potential compromise with foreign trading partners and Republican lawmakers was expected to still include some form of tariffs. The tariffs will be made official in the next two weeks, White House officials said. the former aide said. “No. Beside my meds. Anti-depressants. Is that okay?”
Earlier in the day he told CNN host Gloria Borger that he would not respond to Mueller’s subpoena.
“Screw that!” he said. “Why do I have to go? Why? For what?”
But Nunberg, who was fired from the campaign in 2015 over racist social media posts, later reversed course.
“I’m going to end up cooperating with them,” he told The Associated Press.
Nunberg said the special counsel requested he provide “every communication” he had with his “mentor” Roger Stone; Stephen Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, and Carter Page, the ex-foreign policy adviser.
Asked if he was protecting President Trump, Nunberg replied: “No, I’m not protecting him.”
“He didn’t do anything.” he continued. Nunberg, who was fired from the campaign in 2015 over racist social media posts, said he suspects Mueller knows something about Trump but didn’t clarify what it was.
Sanders (above right), responding to Nunberg’s comments that Mueller might know something about the President, said, “There was no collusion with the Trump campaign.”
“He hasn’t worked at the White House so I certainly can’t speak to him or the lack of knowledge he clearly has,” she said.