Trump’s tariff decision provokes rare urgency among GOP
Lawmakers express trade war concerns if proposals enacted
WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress have learned to ignore President Donald Trump’s policy whims, knowing whatever he says one day on guns, immigration or other complicated issues could very well change by the next.
But Trump’s decision to seek steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has provoked rarely seen urgency among Republicans, now scrambling to convince the president he would spark a trade war that could stall the economy’s gains if he doesn’t reverse course.
The issue pits Trump’s populist promises to his voters against the party’s free trade orthodoxy and the interests of business leaders. Unlike recent immigration and gun policy changes that require legislation, Trump can alter trade policy by executive action. That intensifies the pressure on Republican lawmakers to change his mind before he gives his final approval for the penalties as early as this coming week.
Trump on Saturday showed no sign of backing away, threatening on Twitter to impose a tax on cars made in Europe if the European Union responds to the tariffs by taxing American goods. He also railed about “very stupid” trade deals by earlier administrations and said other countries “laugh at what fools our leaders have been. No more!”
House Speaker Paul Ryan, RWis., called Trump after the president’s surprise announcement, and continues to hope the White House will reconsider the decision. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., and others have offered the president their own private counsel. Some are appealing to his desire for a robust stock market and warning that the trade penalties could unravel some of the gains they attribute to the tax bill he signed last year.
Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, tried one of the most direct lines lawmakers have to the White House: talking to Trump through cable TV news.
“The president has not yet issued these tariffs,” Brady told Fox News on Thursday, hours after Trump announced the tariff targets. “He’s been continuing to listen.”
Republicans say the stakes are too high for them to sit back and wait for Trump to change his mind. Indeed, their relentless public condemnation of the tariffs was notably sharper than their typical handling of the president’s policy whims.
Not wise, said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. A “big mistake,” said Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn. “Kooky,” said Sasse.
Trump, after the White House’s own internal deliberations, proposed a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum. That sparked global warnings of retaliation and left the financial markets reeling.
Republican lawmakers, and some outside groups, want Trump to at least consider a more targeted approach, or exemptions for countries that engage in what they view as fair trade practices.
“We’re all urging the president, look, continue to narrow this to these unfairly targeted products,” Brady said.