{"id":155692,"date":"2018-03-08T21:06:30","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T02:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=155692"},"modified":"2018-03-08T21:06:30","modified_gmt":"2018-03-09T02:06:30","slug":"trump-orders-stiff-trade-tariffs-unswayed-by-grim-warnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/03\/08\/trump-orders-stiff-trade-tariffs-unswayed-by-grim-warnings\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump orders stiff trade tariffs, unswayed by grim warnings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"FILE:<\/a>
FILE: U.S. President Donald Trump (Photo: Gage Skidmore\/ Flickr<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Unswayed by Republican warnings of a trade war, President Donald Trump ordered steep new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. on Thursday, vowing to fight back against an\u201dassault on our country\u201d by foreign competitors. The president said he would exempt Canada and Mexico as\u201da special case\u201d while negotiating for changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement.<\/p>\n

The new tariffs will take effect in 15 days, with America’s neighbours indefinitely spared\u201dto see if we can make the deal,\u201d Trump said. He suggested in an earlier meeting with his Cabinet that Australia and\u201dother countries\u201d might be spared, a shift that could soften the international blow amid threats of retaliation by trading partners.<\/p>\n

Those\u201dother countries\u201d can try to negotiate their way out of the tariffs, he indicated, by ensuring their trade actions do not harm America’s security.<\/p>\n

Surrounded by steel and aluminum workers holding hard hats, Trump cast his action as necessary to protect industries\u201dravaged by aggressive foreign trade practices. It’s really an assault on our country. It’s been an assault.\u201d<\/p>\n

His move, an assertive step for his\u201dAmerica First\u201d agenda, has rattled allies across the globe and raised questions at home about whether protectionism will impede U.S. economic growth. The president made his announcement the same day that officials from 11 other Pacific Rim countries signed a sweeping trade agreement that came together after he pulled the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership last year.<\/p>\n

Though he focused on workers and their companies in his announcement, Trump’s legal proclamation made a major point that weakened steel and aluminum industries represent a major threat to America’s military strength and national security.<\/p>\n

The former real estate developer said U.S. politicians had for years lamented the decline in the steel and aluminum industries but no one before him was willing to take action.<\/p>\n

Despite a week of furious lobbying against his plan by Republican lawmakers and some of his own advisers, Trump said he would go ahead with penalty tariffs of 25 per cent on imported steel and 10 per cent on aluminum. But he also said the penalties could\u201dgo up or down depending on the country, and I’ll have a right to drop out countries or add countries. I just want fairness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Century Aluminum Chief Executive Michael Bless said the tariffs would allow his company, which produces high-purity aluminum used in military aircraft, to recall about 300 workers and restart idled production lines at its smelter in eastern Kentucky by early 2019. And Trump took note of U.S. Steel’s announcement that it planned to ramp up activity at its plant in Granite City, Illinois, and recall about 500 employees because of the new tariffs.<\/p>\n

But there was political criticism aplenty, especially from Trump’s own Republican Party.<\/p>\n

House Speaker Paul Ryan, appearing with Home Depot employees in Atlanta, warned of\u201dunintended consequences.\u201d And Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin called the tariffs\u201da very risky action\u201d that could put agricultural and manufacturing jobs at risk.<\/p>\n

“I’m not sure there are any winners in trade wars,\u201d said Johnson, who once ran a plastics manufacturing business in his home state.<\/p>\n

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said Trump’s action was\u201dlike dropping a bomb on a flea\u201d and could carry\u201dhuge unintended consequences for American manufacturers who depend on imported materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Business leaders, too, sounded their alarm about the potential economic fallout, warning that American consumers would be hurt by higher prices. They noted that steel-consuming companies said tariffs imposed in 2002 by President George W. Bush ended up wiping out 200,000 U.S. jobs.<\/p>\n

“Tariffs are taxes, and the American taxpayer will pay the cost of a trade war,\u201d said Cody Lusk, president and CEO of the American International Automobile Dealers Association.\u201dEven with limited exemptions, tariffs will raise the sale prices of new vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stocks ended the day higher after the announcement, with investors relieved by the carved out exceptions for key allies.<\/p>\n

At the White House, an upbeat Trump chatted with the steelworkers, invited them to the Oval Office and autographed a hard hat. He invited some of the workers to speak from the presidential podium, and several said that excessive\u201ddumping\u201d of foreign steel and aluminum had negatively affected their jobs and families.<\/p>\n

Nations around the globe that were not excluded from the tariffs reacted with dismay.<\/p>\n

The European Union warned before the announcement that it was ready to retaliate with counter-measures against iconic U.S. products such as Harley Davidson motorcycles, Levi’s jeans and bourbon.<\/p>\n

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom tweeted after Trump’s announcement that\u201dthe EU should be excluded from these measures.\u201d Malmstrom said she would be meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Brussels on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The British government said tariffs\u201dare not the right way to address the global problem of overcapacity\u201d and said it would work with EU partners\u201dto consider the scope for exemptions outlined today.\u201d Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono called the decision\u201dextremely regrettable,\u201d predicting it could have a major impact on the economy and the relationship between the U.S. and Japan, as well as the global economy.<\/p>\n

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, meanwhile, called the announcement a\u201dstep forward\u201d and said Canadian officials had exerted tremendous efforts to get the exemption.\u201dThat Canada could be seen as a threat to U.S. security is inconceivable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The exemptions for Canada and Mexico could be ended if talks to renegotiate NAFTA stall, the White House said. The talks are expected to resume early next month.<\/p>\n

The run-up to Thursday’s announcement included intense debate within the White House, pitting hard-liners against free trade advocates such as outgoing economic adviser Gary Cohn. Recent weeks have seen other departures and negative news stories that have left Trump increasingly isolated, according to senior officials speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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