Trump administration withholds report justifying 'shock' auto tariffs
Source: Politico
The Commerce Department's February finding that major tariffs on foreign cars can be justified on national security grounds has not previously been confirmed.
By ELIANA JOHNSON and ANDREW RESTUCCIA
03/20/2019 05:05 AM EDT
A confidential government report has provided President Donald Trump with a legal rationale to impose heavy new tariffs on foreign cars as soon as this spring, a prospect fiercely opposed by White House officials and congressional Republicans alarmed by its enormous economic and political stakes.
The Commerce Department submitted the report to the White House in mid-February, triggering a 90-day period for Trump to decide whether to impose tariffs, which could reach as high as 25 percent, on imported autos. It concluded that Trump could justify the tariffs on national security grounds and offered a range of options in response — putting the decision in the president’s hands, four people familiar with its conclusions told POLITICO.
Although the existence of the report was previously known, the administration has kept its findings hidden — including from a powerful Republican senator who has demanded to see it — and its conclusion had not been previously reported..................................
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But Trump’s senior economic advisers are almost universally opposed to slapping new tariffs on auto imports, warning of dire economic and political consequences. They argue that the tariffs would infuriate close U.S. allies from Asia to Western Europe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said last month that the idea German cars threaten the U.S. would be “a shock.” The move could also undermine efforts to persuade Congress to approve the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal.
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Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/20/trump-tariffs-automobiles-commerce-1228344
Maddow reported on this tonight saying if tariffs are imposed it would increase cars by thousands of dollars!!
Link to tweet
Trump aides such as U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (left) have raised concerns about the proposed tariffs. One exception is trade adviser Peter Navarro (right), an unapologetic protectionist. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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Navarro is a hot mess. I had no idea Jared found him on Amazon.
You can't make this shit up. It's horrifying.
Watched the Drain the Swamp episode next and then had to watch big cat videos for an hour in order to lower my blood pressure.
