President waves off critics of tariff plan, says he won’t relent
WASHINGTON — President Trump insisted Monday that he’s “not backing down” on his plan to impose stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum despite anxious warnings from House Speaker Paul Ryan and other congressional Republicans of a possible trade war.
The president said North American neighbors Canada and Mexico would not get any relief from his plan to place the tariffs on the imports but suggested he might be willing to exempt the two allies if they agreed to better terms for the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“No, we’re not backing down,” Trump said. “We’ve had a very bad deal with Mexico, we’ve had a very bad deal with Canada — it’s called NAFTA.”
The president opened the door to exempting the two countries from the planned tariffs, telling reporters, “that would be, I would imagine, one of the points that we’ll negotiate.” But he added, “If they aren’t going to make a fair NAFTA deal, we’re just going to leave it this way.”
Trump spoke shortly after a spokeswoman for House Speaker Ryan said the GOP leader was “extremely worried” about the tariffs setting off a trade war and had urged the White House “to not advance with this plan.” Republican leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee, meanwhile, circulated a letter opposing Trump’s tariff plan.
The administration says the tariffs are necessary to preserve the American industries — and that imposing them is a national security imperative. But Trump’s comments and tweets earlier in the day suggested he was also using them as leverage in the current talks to revise NAFTA. The latest round of a nearly yearlong renegotiation effort is concluding this week in Mexico City.
He tweeted, “Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed. Also, Canada must treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive. Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S.”
In the meantime, Trump’s tariff plan has been branded “absolutely unacceptable” by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada. JeanClaude Juncker, president of the European Commission, has said the European Union could respond by taxing American goods including Bourbon, blue jeans and Harley Davidson motorcycles.
The tariffs will be made official in the next two weeks, White House officials said Monday, as the administration defended the protectionist decision from critics in Washington and overseas.
Speaking on “Fox and Friends,” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said: “25 percent on steel, and the 10 percent on aluminum, no country exclusions — firm line in the sand.”
Trump has threatened to tax European cars if the EU boosts tariffs on American products in response to the president’s plan to increase duties on steel and aluminum.