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 presidents 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 Trumps 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
happybird
(4,606 posts)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.
Roy Rolling
(6,917 posts)Will the fiercely loyal Trump supporters who own foreign car dealerships or NASCAR teams from Toyota take a financial hit for their idol?
Something not a fan of Trump tariffs is the stock market. It doesn't like uncertainty.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)I was originally going to wait until summer 2019, but he started floating this import tax last May.
I bought a new car two weeks later. 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan replacing a 2009 VW Tiguan.
Quemado
(1,262 posts)The Prius is made in Japan.
machoneman
(4,006 posts)yet he'll also tap the other Euro cars, maybe Japanese and Korean too. Not all are made here in the USA.
Whattadork!
Corgigal
(9,291 posts)We here in Kentucky have the largest Toyota plant in the USA.
What you're gonna do, you treasonous bastard?
DeminPennswoods
(15,286 posts)then.
Mr.Bill
(24,284 posts)destroys the auto industry purely because Obama saved it. He really can't think or care any deeper than that.
James48
(4,435 posts)As a child who grew up near Flint, Michigan in the 1970s , I saw foreign auto makers destroy American auto industry.
We dont have the ability today to make autos enough (and by conversion, weapons if all kinds) to win a World War III.
So I am fine with putting a 25% tax on Japanese, German, Korean or even Mexican built cars.
Lock him up.
(6,928 posts)They will impose tariffs on... Michigan cars they import.
Well, if losing thousands of auto-industry jobs (and suppliers) will make sure the orange mob boss will not win the EC, I'm all for it too then.
But at what cost, the trump Depression...
LastLiberal in PalmSprings
(12,585 posts)It must be nice to live a life of no accountability, surrounded by toadies who will provide anything you ask to justify putting your insane ideas into action.