Posted on 03/05/2018 2:01:29 AM PST by gattaca
Following President Trump's surprise announcement that he would impose tariffs on both steel and aluminum imports, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, is joining the growing chorus of Republicans who argue the move could have negative impacts on the U.S. economy and cause a rift with international trade partners. Graham pleaded Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation" for Mr. Trump to "reconsider your solution."
"China is winning and we're losing with this tariff regime. You are letting China off the hook. You're punishing the American consumer and our allies. You're making a huge mistake here. Go after China, not the rest of the world," urged Graham.
Graham said the steel industry has been "decimated" as a result of China's steel "dumping," saying the country produces more steel than the world consumes.
Transcript: Sen. Lindsey Graham on "Face the Nation," March 4, 2018 He suggested, if the president is looking to directly impact China, he should "get back in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, be present in Asia, hit them on intellectual property theft, hit them on currency manipulation, hit them about steel dumping."
Mr. Trump announced Friday that his administration will impose a 10 percent tariff for imported aluminum and 25 percent levy for foreign steel. The move is widely predicted to escalate tensions with China and other trading partners across the globe.
Critics fear other countries will retaliate and impose trade penalties of their own in response. They argue the tariffs will increase prices for consumers and hurt companies that use aluminum or steel, like auto companies.
Graham's own state of South Carolina is home to automaker BMW's largest manufacturing plant in the world. He said that the president's threat of taxing European car imports will hurt other auto manufacturers directly.
"BMW makes more cars in Greenville, South Carolina, than any plant in the entire BMW family. Volkswagens come to South Carolina. We've got a steel plant in South Carolina. We got -- we make more tires than any place in the United States. Thirty-two percent of the tires exported from the United States comes from South Carolina. This tariff on steel is going to hurt them. So go after China," added Graham.
Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is supportive of the trade policy, saying the tariffs directly impact those who have lost thousands of jobs in his own state.
"I like where the president is going on this. I really do," said Manchin. "We're talking about fair trade, free trade hasn't worked well for West Virginia. It really -- we've lost thousands of jobs. And we're talking about a fairness to the system."
Manchin added. "We've got to do something, but also we shouldn't punish our favored trading nations where we have surpluses with them, and there's not a negative, trade, you know, trade war."
Just out of curiosity, can anyone on FR or the Senator himself, detail how much experience he has in running multi-national businesses, large business deals, trade agreements-tariffs-taxes, trade imbalances, manufacturing, business creation, job creation?
Or does the Senator just parrot what his corporate masters tell him to read off the cue cards they give him? No different than the media, like Wallace, who have no experience in anything other than reading a teleprompter or interviews, all of the sudden become experts in international trade.
I heard clip of this Sunday night- thought at time if trumps wants this and Lindsay does not- I will go with Trump.
We have at least 40 yrs of status quo- look at where USA is now- time for a change- perhaps time for Lindsey to retire also
“Or does the Senator just parrot what his corporate masters tell him to read off the cue cards they give him?”
I go with Parrot- definitely not the type to have an original thought. :)
I agree. It's time for sweeping change. Part of the problem is that Washington is full of people who went to the same universities and share a ridiculously homogeneous group-think - and their own ‘dogmatic truths’.
Dogma, however, is often the enemy of truth.
Graham has the negotiating skills of possum road kill. Trump is directly impacting China, he's making it clear to them he's serious and hoping they'll change their policies and work with him to reach a deal he believes is fair. What, Graham, you expected him to get up one morning and say, "50% tariff on everything imported from China!!"?
Better to show them you're serious then get them to agree to buying LNG, even though it's more expensive than some alternatives, and other products from the US at a good price along with modifying their behavior rather than doing like Graham and his butt buddy McCain who call beating someone with a hammer negotiating.
JMHo
Gun grabber Joe Manchin squares off with grahamnesty.. can’t they both lose? I thought I read something about a Chinese land grab in West Virginia.. I have a house there, so it caught my attention.
If that’s gun grabber Joes motivation, I wouldn’t be surprised either. He sold out long ago.
Well, bomb them too, I guess, right Senator?
Well, Senator Miss Lindsey:
You are free to write and sponsor a bill to put China ‘on the hook’. I’ll betcha that if you pass it in the Senate, and get it passed in the House, then Trump will sign and enforce it.
Until you do that.... just shut your yap.
Outsourcing is great!
If you’re an investor in bed with the communist chinese.
Americans? Not so much.
But hey! At least there’s plenty of cheap shit to buy on ebay and amazon.
In the mean time, domestic goods, fuel, and food prices are inflating into the stratosphere due to the ever decreasing value of the US dollar.
And people don’t understand why the dow is so high.
Linda says lots of things, must be that time of the month again.
While I don’t necessarily expect Republicans to march in lockstep with the President, I’ve had it with Republicans who go public with their criticisms. If Ms. Lindsey disagrees with President Trump’s proposals, he should express his misgivings in private. It is inexcusable for pubbies to join the rats/media in their jihad against the president.
Trump obviously doesn’t understand Money. /s
Before I consider any argument from Lindsey Graham I think back to his appearance on MSNBC with Chris Matthews on election night when he commiserated in agony over the loss for Hillary.
He’s a pain in our rear end that’s larger than McCain and Flafe, Sanders combined
If nothing else, the tariffs are exposing the globalists in Congress.
Lol going to be hard to beat that post the rest of the day :-) I am all in favor of what Trump is doing. Though it was only maybe a year-and-a-half ago that I got destroyed on this board for even suggesting a tiny tarriff
Now if only I could spell it right LOL
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