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Trump says he won't back down on tariffs plan; Ryan 'extremely worried'

March 12, 2018 09:27·
US steel tariffs chart

US steel tariffs chart

That's good for domestic producers of those commodities but bad for those who buy them to make other products.

But he has not mentioned the national security element when discussing trade in recent days.

"They darn well know that the impacts on the USA economy will be major, and they will be negative", he said.

Last Thursday, the president said we needed tariffs because "they've destroyed the steel industry".

"They have trade barriers that are worse than tariffs. Big trade imbalance!" Trump tweeted on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump (R) talks with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the beginning of the third working session of the G20 meeting in Hamburg, northern Germany, on July 8, 2017. They're already seeking waivers, but his trade adviser says there will be no exemptions.

Trump made it clear during his campaign that he was unhappy with USA trade deficits and planned to do something about them.

While Trump is apparently aiming at China with these tariffs, he badly misfired.

The Senate Finance Committee has jurisdiction over worldwide trade issues. He urges Trump to refocus efforts on opening overseas markets without imposing "harmful and unnecessary tax increases" on Americans.

Republicans and others have warned that major USA trading partners could retaliate by imposing tariffs on US products, but Trump - who tweeted Friday that a trade war would be "easy to win" - dismissed those concerns as well.

Trump's tariffs are based on Section 232 of a 1962 USA law that allows safeguards based on "national security".

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"People have no idea how badly our country has been treated by other countries". "These producers now have to compete in hypercompetitive global markets using steel that is 20 per cent above the world price". Congressional leaders believe that approach has worked well - until now.

Löfven is the first European leader to visit the White House since Trump announced he would slap stiff new tariffs on steel and aluminum last week.

The executive arm of the European Union reportedly plans to target $3.5 billion of goods imported from the United States, including T-shirts, whisky, motorcycles and ladders, if Trump decides to implement worldwide duties on steel and aluminum. He did not give examples.

Speaking with reporters in Washington Tuesday, Ryan acknowledged there's "abuse occurring" when it comes to the dumping of steel.

The speaker is among the most outspoken GOP critics of Trump's plan as Republicans rush to convince the president to reconsider before a final decision.

The end result could erode the president's base of support with rural America and even the blue-collar workers the president says he's trying to help.

"It could [be passed on] but I think it will be lost in the wash", he said.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday that Mr Trump was "very confident" the U.S. would win any trade war.

Since Trump's inauguration over a year ago, the European Union has doubled its efforts to forge free trade agreements across the world, from Japan to Mexico. The agreement signed in 1994 includes the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and is the subject of talks to renegotiate its terms. Section 232 has not been used since the WTO was created in 1995, although the USA government considered and rejected such action in 1999 and 2001.

"But if I do make a deal which is fair to the workers and to the American people, that would be, I would imagine, one of the points that we'll negotiate; it will be tariffs on steel for Canada and for Mexico", Trump said. "We see ourselves as being an important part of the USA supply chain", he said. President Trump vowed to tax European cars if the EU retaliates against his plans to tax imported steel and aluminum.

"We are extremely anxious about the consequences of a trade war and are urging the White House to not advance with this plan", Strong said. Ryan is urging the White House not to go forward with the plan.

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