6/23/2017

COMMERCE/TAXES/TRADE DEALS: “Senior lawmakers in both parties are resisting the Trump administration’s moves toward imposing steel tariffs on national security grounds, worried that other countries could use the same argument to block exports from their states.
The Commerce Department is expected to reveal the results of an investigation of steel imports in coming days, a step that could lead Mr. Trump to impose the most significant barriers to steel imports since at least the George W. Bush administration. Critics of the case—known as a Section 232 investigation—say broad tariffs would lead to higher domestic prices for steel, hurting auto makers and other consumers of the alloy, as well as generating retaliation from trade partners.
‘It will encourage others to restrict our exports, even in unrelated sectors, which only hurts the growth of jobs and paychecks here at home,’ said Rep. Kevin Brady, the Texas Republican who chairs the House committee that oversees trade policy. ‘Done hastily, we raise costs and prove to our partners that we aren’t reliable.’
The resistance in Congress is notable because lawmakers—including many Democrats—generally welcomed the Trump administration’s overall goal of getting tough on trade partners by enforcing trade rules.”

-William Maudlin, “Trump’s Steel Tariff Threat Faces Resistance From Lawmakers,” The Wall Street Journal online, June 23, 2017 05:30am