American aluminum giants urge Trump to change tariff plans

[struggle4progress]

Lori Ann LaRocco
Published 5 Hours Ago
Updated 5 Hours Ago

American aluminum producers told President Donald Trump in a letter that they are "deeply concerned" about the effect global tariffs would have on their industry, including jobs.

They offered alternatives, including targeting China.

"We fear that the proposed tariff may do more harm than good," the group said in Monday's letter, which was signed by Heidi Brock, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association. The group represents 114 producers and other companies, including Alcoa, Vulcan and Rio Tinto Alcan, which collectively employ 713,000 workers in the United States.

They urged the president to look at alternatives to his proposed 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports, including a levy targeting China's aluminum industry and an exemption for Canadian, European and other foreign producers ...

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/06/american-aluminum-giants-urge-trump-to-change-tariff-plans.html

[struggle4progress]

1. Craft breweries fear tariffs will doom the boom

by Patrick Gillespie
March 6, 2018: 12:12 PM ET

Craft beer has exploded in popularity in recent years. But a slew of challenges are slowing the once-surging industry.

President Trump's looming 10% tariff on aluminum — think beer cans — poses the latest threat.

Brewers say the trade action will hurt a niche business that has created tens of thousands of jobs.

"It certainly puts a strain on the business," says Chad Melis, marketing director at Oskar Blues, a Colorado-based brewery with operations in North Carolina and Texas. "It will affect our ability to grow and create new jobs and invest in our communities" ...

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/06/news/economy/craft-beer-trump-tariffs/index.html

[struggle4progress]

2. Non-partisan group predicts Trump tariffs would cost 146,000 jobs

By MEGHAN KENEALLY
Mar 6, 2018, 11:54 AM ET

... The Trade Partnership, a non-partisan pro-trade group, released a report Monday predicting that there will be a net loss of thousands of jobs if the proposed tariffs on aluminum and steel are applied on imports from all countries.

The move to impose tariffs has drawn fire from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who suggested that there has to be a "smarter way" to combat steel and aluminum dumping by countries like China.

A report put out by the Trade Partnership, which is also a consulting firm that does research on international trade, predicts that while there will be an increase in aluminum- and steel-based jobs in the U.S. because of increased demand; that jump would be far smaller than the number of jobs that would be lost in other sectors as a result of the increased cost of working with steel and aluminum ...

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/partisan-group-predicts-trump-tariffs-cost-146000-jobs/story?id=53551869

[RestoreAmerica2020]

3. Don't fret, Pete Navarro is on it--assured us peons...

"Let me just do a little numbers for you. A six pack of beer or coke -- aluminum, cent and a half at the most in terms of costs," Navarro said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Trump is just like my father.

Decisions based on "instinct", "the gut", "common sense" -- and usually wrong.

You could try to dissuade him with competing facts, logic -- and it wouldn't work.

He'd say "I may not always be right, but I'm never wrong." (I wanted to hit my sister when I heard her repeat that, validating our father's whimsical positions.