Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) bemoaned President Trump’s “shot to the foot’” over tariffs on Fox News’ Journal Editorial Report.
Tennessee’s senior senator, praising globalism, introduced the Automotive Jobs Act of 2018 Wednesday to delay the tariffs. He said, “Zero tariffs is exactly the right policy.”
He also called for an end to the steel and aluminum tariffs which he said are hurting Tennessee’s auto industry and raising prices of the autos they make. He claimed the state exports cars around the world but could not answer a question as to how many are shipped out of the country.
“Tariffs are shooting ourselves in the foot, really shooting ourselves in both feet,” Alexander said.
He called for the reauthorization of NAFTA by September and said it has been good for Tennessee.
Steel and aluminum tariffs remain in place and car tariffs will remain on hold if negotiations continue, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said. Fox News quoted him as calling auto tariffs a “national security threat.”
Calling on globalists
The automotive act, co-sponsored by Sen. Doug Jones, (D-AL), would delay the tariffs of 20 to 25 percent on imported vehicles, CNBC said. The bill would require the International Trade Commission to conduct “a comprehensive study of the well-being … of the United States automotive industry before tariffs could be applied.”
In June, Trump threatened to impose the tariff on imports from members of the European Union if its trade barriers are “not soon broken down and removed.”
China started it
However, Andy Puzder said China started the trade war and Trump is only trying to end it, Fox News reported.
China has undermined world trade for years, especially with the U.S. Last year, America’s deficit with China was more than $375.5 billion. China has long blocked American manufacturers and food producers with discriminatory trade rules and tariffs. The Chinese government gives large subsidies to its own firms. China forces foreign firms to transfer their technology to Chinese companies.
Both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren support the president’s efforts to fight this cheating, Puzder said.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are beginning to see that this is a war we can win,” Puzder said. “In May, China agreed to slash car tariffs and import more American-made products due to President Trump’s tough negotiating skills.”
GDP growth
Larry Kudlow of the president’s National Economic Council spoke to Fox News about the economy.
America’s GDP grew 4.1 percent in the second quarter of 2018. That is not because of people buying ahead of the tariffs as some have speculated, he said, calling criticism “ankle biting.” And, there was virtually no inflation.
The country is “making progress in fixing the broken world trading system,” he added.
“Free trade — but we’ve got to get rid of the unfair trading practices,” Kudlow said. “China’s the worst offender.”
“Money is coming into the United States from all over the world.”
