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BUSINESS Thursday 13 June 2019
A25

Businesses showing discontent with Trump’s trade policies

By PAUL WISEMAN he’s threatening to impose
STEVE PEOPLES Section 232 tariffs on auto
Associated Press imports, a chilling threat to
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- American allies Japan and
dent Donald Trump’s ag- the European Union.
gressive and wildly unpre- Congress is considering
dictable use of tariffs is bipartisan legislation to
spooking American busi- weaken the president’s au-
ness groups, which have thority to declare national-
long formed a potent force security tariffs. In doing so,
in his Republican Party. lawmakers would be reas-
Corporate America was serting Congress’ authority
blindsided last week when over trade policy, estab-
Trump threatened to im- lished by the Constitution
pose crippling taxes on but ceded over the years
Mexican imports in a push to the White House.
to stop the flow of Central The legislation has stalled
American migrants into the in Congress this spring. But
United States. on Tuesday, Iowa Republi-
The two sides reached a can Chuck Grassley, chair-
truce Friday after Mexico man of the Senate Finance
agreed to do more to Committee, said the bill
stop the migrants. But by would be ready “pretty
Monday, Trump was again soon.”
threatening the tariffs if Given “how the president
Mexico didn’t abide by an feels about tariffs,” Grassley
unspecified commitment, said, “he may not look fa-
to “be revealed in the not In this May 9, 2019, photo, steel rods produced at the Gerdau Ameristeel mill in St. Paul, Minn. vorably on this. So I want a
too distant future.” Associated Press very strong vote in my com-
Such whipsawing is now a tion committees focused party’s traditional allies in nine in 10 rank-and-file Re- mittee and then, in turn, a
hallmark of Trump’s trade on policy — including one the business world strug- publicans support his per- very strong vote on the
policy. The president re- devoted to free trade — gling to maintain political formance as president, ac- floor of the Senate.”
peatedly threatens tariffs, to back Republicans or relevance in the Trump era. cording to the latest Gallup Congressional reluctance
sometimes imposes them, Democrats who break with Trump’s tariffs are taxes polling. So Republicans in to challenge Trump could
sometimes suspends them, Trump’s trade policies. A paid by American im- Congress have been reluc- be tested in coming
sometimes threatens them powerful force in Republi- porters and are typically tant to tangle with him. months. Lawmakers may
again. Or drops them. can politics, the network is passed along to their cus- But last week’s flareup balk if he proceeds with
Business groups, already already a year into a “multi- tomers. They can provoke over the Mexico tariffs plans to tax $300 billion
uncomfortable with year multi-million dollar” retaliatory tariffs on U.S. ex- may prove to be a pivotal worth of Chinese goods
Trump’s attempts to stem campaign to promote the ports. And they can para- juncture. The spat was es- that he hasn’t already tar-
immigration, are struggling dangers of tariff and pro- lyze businesses, uncertain pecially alarming to busi- geted with tariffs — a move
to figure out where to stand tectionist trade policies. about where they should nesses because it came that would jack up what
in the fast-shifting political The Chamber of Com- buy supplies or situate fac- seemingly out of nowhere. consumers pay for every-
climate. They have happily merce, too, is in the early tories. Less than two weeks ear- thing from bicycles to bur-
supported Trump’s corpo- phases of disentangling “Knowing the rules helps lier, Trump had lifted tariffs glar.
rate tax cuts and moves to itself from the Republican us plan for the future,” said on Mexican and Canadian Likewise, taxing auto im-
loosen environmental and Party after decades of loy- Jeff Schwager, president steel and aluminum — ac- ports — an idea that has
other regulations. But the alty. The Chamber, which of Sartori, a cheese com- tion that seemed to signal virtually no support outside
capriciousness of Trump’s spent at least $29 million pany that has had to con- warmer commercial ties the White House — would
use of tariffs has proved largely to help Republicans tend with retaliatory tariffs between the United States likely meet furious resis-
alarming. in the 2016 election, an- in Mexico in an earlier dis- and its neighbors. tance. So would any move
“Business is losing,” said Rick nounced earlier this year pute. “This really came out of left to abandon a trade pact
Tyler, a Republican strate- that it would devote more Trump seems unfazed. field,” said Daniel Ujczo, a with Mexico and Canada.
gist and frequent Trump time and attention to Dem- Myron Brilliant, head of in- trade lawyer at Dickinson Trump has threatened to
critic. “He calls himself ‘Mr. ocrats on Capitol Hill while ternational affairs at the U.S. Wright. “It was something withdraw from the 25-year-
Tariff man.’ He’s proud of raising the possibility of sup- Chamber of Commerce, we thought we had settled, old North American Free
it... It’s bad news for the porting Democrats in 2020. went on CNBC on Monday and we hadn’t.” Trade Agreement if Con-
party. It’s bad news for the Few expect the Chamber to decry “the weaponiza- Congress was already gress won’t ratify a re-
free market.” or business-backed groups tion of tariffs” as a threat to showing signs of wariness, vamped version he negoti-
“It was a good wakeup like the Koch network to the U.S. economy and to especially over Trump’s ated last year.
call for business,” James suddenly embrace Demo- relations with trading part- decision to dust off a little- For all their disenchantment
Jones, chairman of Mon- crats in a significant way. ners. used provision of trade law with Trump, the Chamber
arch Global Strategies and But even a subtle shift to Trump responded by phon- to slap tariffs on trading of Commerce may yet find
a former U.S. ambassador withhold support from vul- ing in to the network to partners. Section 232 of the it hard to break its ties to the
to Mexico, said of Trump’s nerable Republican candi- declare “I guess he’s not Trade Expansion of 1962 party. Though the chamber
abrupt move to threaten to dates could make a differ- so brilliant” and defend his lets the president impose says it’s weighing a more
tax Mexican goods. ence in 2020. trade policies. sanctions on imports that bipartisan approach, it re-
Just last week, the sprawl- Trump’s boundless enthusi- “Tariffs,” he said, “are a he deems a threat to na- cently featured a sign on its
ing network led by the bil- asm for tariffs has upended beautiful thing.” tional security. front steps: It likened Trump
lionaire industrialist Charles decades of Republican Trump can afford to be Trump has deployed that to Republican icons Ron-
Koch announced the cre- trade policy that favored confident about his grip provision to tax imported ald Reagan and Dwight
ation of several political ac- free trade. It has left the over the party: Roughly steel and aluminum. And Eisenhower.q