House Speaker Paul Ryan is pushing back on President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will impose hefty tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum, his spokeswoman said on Monday.
“We are extremely worried about the consequences of a trade war and are urging the White House to not advance with this plan,” Ryan’s spokeswoman, AshLee Strong, said in a statement.
The disagreement comes after Trump suddenly announced far-reaching tariffs during a meeting with steel and aluminum executives last Thursday. Foreign steel will face a 25 percent tax, and foreign aluminum will be under a 10 percent tax. It appears no countries will be exempt from the tariffs.
Congressional Republicans openly disagreed with the plan when it became public last week, many of them expressing concern that it may spark a global trade war that could adversely affect American businesses and consumers. Tariffs could also undermine potential economic growth spurred by the tax bill Republicans passed last December, which the party plans to tout extensively on the campaign trail before midterm elections in November.
“The new tax reform law has boosted the economy and we certainly don’t want to jeopardize those gains,” Strong said in her statement.
Republican lawmakers are joining Ryan in an effort to convince the president to reverse course before he makes the tariffs official this week. According to NPR’s Kelsey Snell, House Ways and Means Republicans are drafting a letter to the White House to share concerns about the steel and aluminum tariffs.
Trump, for his part, argues that “trade wars are good” and “easy to win.”
