After a year of his Tariff war going no place ….
A year in which China has actually INCREASED imports to America …..
Republicans are working hard to get Donald Trump to give up his effort to squeeze more money out of importing countries …
They ARE afraid that an already slowing economy could be in worst shape with Trump’s efforts…
Of course?….Donald Trump doesn’t always listen to what makes sense….
Republicans are trying to head off their next potentially explosive conflict with President Donald Trump.
In a series of private meetings and conversations with Trump over the past few months, Senate Republicans have pleaded with him not to impose a new round of tariffs on foreign automakers — fearing they could debilitate Trump-backed states and cast the economy into a recession ahead of the 2020 election.
But Trump isn’t heeding the warnings so far.
Behind closed doors, GOP senators push back on Trump consistently when he brings up existing tariffs on steel and aluminum or potential tariffs on automakers, according to Republican senators. But Trump doesn’t back down from his position: He says the threat of tariffs gets the attention of trading partners — like China — who need to permit more imports of American products.
“The president likes tariffs as a threat. I hope he understands that the auto tariffs damage the autoworkers” in Midwest and southeastern states. “And I know he cares a lot about them. So I’m hopeful that he won’t do that,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, where Nissan and Volkswagen have plants. But, he added: “If I were Japan and Europe, I wouldn’t relax.”
Whether GOP senators can head off another round of tariffs ultimately lies with the whims of the president. Administration officials have tried to reassure worried Republicans that the president has hit pause as he considers a trade report that would allow him to declare tariffs on the basis of national security.
But Republican senators said in interviews on Wednesday they have enormous concerns that Trump might go ahead with it anyway. That’s in part because Trump may once again make a unilateral decision. “He’s in conflict, to a certain extent, with his agencies,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, home to a Kia plant…..