HOUSE OF REPS/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS: “House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling warned President Donald Trump on Tuesday [3-6-18] against pressing forward with a broad package of tariffs on foreign aluminum and steel, cautioning that such a move could undo the economic benefits of the tax cut package he signed late last year…
Trump announced last week his intention to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum, a step he has said is intended to protect American workers. But the move has been met with opposition from many in the Republican Party, which has historically been a supporter of free trade.
The president’s announcement has also received a chilly reception from some of America’s largest trading partners, including Canada and the European Union, the latter of which has threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs against imports from the U.S.
Hensarling, who announced last October that he would not seek reelection in this year’s midterms, heaped praise upon the president for the package of tax cuts and reforms that he and fellow congressional Republicans shepherded into law late last year. Hensarlingpredicted consumers would bear the brunt of any tariffs and that Trump’s announced moves would cancel out the economic benefits of the tax legislation and regulatory rollback he has championed.”
-Louis Nelson, “Hensarling warns Trump that tariffs could undo tax cut benefits,” Politico, Mar. 6, 2018 09:27am