U.S. Steel, AFL-CIO, and Others Praise Trump's Tariff Hikes on Steel and Aluminum

[JakeStarkey]

mikegriffith1, we all know who you are, how your goofy theories on economics and history are just invalid.

I think you still follow skousen and jbs and the freemen's institute, so I am not too concerned with your nonsense.

Yes, tariffs will rise prices, cost jobs, and lead to a recession.

However, I think Trump is using the threat to cut some trade deals more favorable to the US with the promise that he won't impose tariffs.

IOW, you did not bother to read the OP or the links. Skousen, Freemen's, JBS? Huuuh?
th
I base my views on tariffs on years of study of economic history, including recent economic history (e.g., China, South Korea, the EU, etc.).

You keep ignoring the fact that we tried the same kind of trade policy that Trump is trying to implement, and it worked fantastically. We became an economic and industrial powerhouse by shielding our major industries and workers with high tariffs and trade restrictions. Republican presidents from Lincoln to Grant to Hayes to Harding to Howard Taft to Teddy Roosevelt backed protective tariffs, and America prospered because of them.

I ask again: Why is it okay for other nations to protect their jobs and industries with tariffs but not okay for America to do so?

"Trade war"?! We've been in a trade war for decades and have been getting clobbered. Look at our trade deficit for the past 30 years. The same nations that have used high tariffs to help their own economies are now whining because Trump wants the U.S. to do the same thing.

Your history seems to end in the 1920s. You left out Herbert Hoover and the tariffs that turned a recession into a depression. Or George Bush's tariffs that he revoked after only 1 year because it did not work. The fact is that there are good jobs going begging because there are not enough people.

I've already answered, with links, the myth that the Hoover-era tariffs made a recession a depression. That is erroneous.

As for the Bush tariffs, it's not that they did not work but that Bush got talked out of them by the globalists and free-trader Republicans.

Our trade deficit is a sign of strength. We are a consumer society so we buy more things than other countries. Mexico has a trade surplus because their per capita income is much lower than ours. You want to be like them? The tariffs are a tax on consumers. They hurt workers in steel using industries.

Myths, myths, and more globalist myths. And you're a Democrat? You might try reading the other side:
Research

MikeGriffith's insistence that the Hoover tariffs did not terribly affect the Great Depression already has been defeated. Remember that Mike runs with Edward Baiamonte.

 

[mikegriffith1]

mikegriffith1, we all know who you are, how your goofy theories on economics and history are just invalid.

I think you still follow skousen and jbs and the freemen's institute, so I am not too concerned with your nonsense.

Yes, tariffs will rise prices, cost jobs, and lead to a recession.

However, I think Trump is using the threat to cut some trade deals more favorable to the US with the promise that he won't impose tariffs.

IOW, you did not bother to read the OP or the links. Skousen, Freemen's, JBS? Huuuh?
th
I base my views on tariffs on years of study of economic history, including recent economic history (e.g., China, South Korea, the EU, etc.).

You keep ignoring the fact that we tried the same kind of trade policy that Trump is trying to implement, and it worked fantastically. We became an economic and industrial powerhouse by shielding our major industries and workers with high tariffs and trade restrictions. Republican presidents from Lincoln to Grant to Hayes to Harding to Howard Taft to Teddy Roosevelt backed protective tariffs, and America prospered because of them.

I ask again: Why is it okay for other nations to protect their jobs and industries with tariffs but not okay for America to do so?

"Trade war"?! We've been in a trade war for decades and have been getting clobbered. Look at our trade deficit for the past 30 years. The same nations that have used high tariffs to help their own economies are now whining because Trump wants the U.S. to do the same thing.

Your history seems to end in the 1920s. You left out Herbert Hoover and the tariffs that turned a recession into a depression. Or George Bush's tariffs that he revoked after only 1 year because it did not work. The fact is that there are good jobs going begging because there are not enough people.

I've already answered, with links, the myth that the Hoover-era tariffs made a recession a depression. That is erroneous.

As for the Bush tariffs, it's not that they did not work but that Bush got talked out of them by the globalists and free-trader Republicans.

Our trade deficit is a sign of strength. We are a consumer society so we buy more things than other countries. Mexico has a trade surplus because their per capita income is much lower than ours. You want to be like them? The tariffs are a tax on consumers. They hurt workers in steel using industries.

Myths, myths, and more globalist myths. And you're a Democrat? You might try reading the other side:
Research

MikeGriffith's insistence that the Hoover tariffs did not terribly affect the Great Depression already has been defeated.

No, it has not. You repeat talking points and then declare yourself the winner. The idea that protecting American industries and jobs was any kind of cause of the Great Depression is laughable. Why did high tariffs produce years and years and years of economic growth? How come China has become a global economic power behind an ardently protectionist trade police, including high tariffs?

The Great Depression was triggered when the Federal Reserve suddenly contracted a huge chunk of the money supply.

As for the arguments about the Bush tariffs, they were riddled with some 700 of exemptions and were toothless, which is why they had little hope of doing much good, and then Bush got talked out of them.

 

[David Dennisson]

Before we get to the U.S. Steel and AFL-CIO statements, let's consider a little history about tariffs and their success--under Republican administrations:

From Lincoln to William McKinley to Theodore Roosevelt, and from Warren Harding through Calvin Coolidge, the Republican Party erected the most awesome manufacturing machine the world had ever seen.

And, as the party of high tariffs through those seven decades, the GOP was rewarded by becoming America's Party.

Thirteen Republican presidents served from 1860 to 1930, and only two Democrats. And Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson were elected only because the Republicans had split.

Why, then, this terror of tariffs that grips the GOP? . . .

“Trade wars are not won, only lost,” warns Sen. Jeff Flake. But this is ahistorical nonsense.

The U.S. relied on tariffs to convert from an agricultural economy in 1800 to the mightiest manufacturing power on earth by 1900.

Bismarck’s Germany, born in 1871, followed the U.S. example, and swept past free trade Britain before World War I.

Does Senator Flake think Japan rose to post-war preeminence through free trade, as Tokyo kept U.S. products out, while dumping cars, radios, TVs and motorcycles here to kill the industries of the nation that was defending them. Both Nixon and Reagan had to devalue the dollar to counter the predatory trade policies of Japan.

Since Bush I, we have run $12 trillion in trade deficits, and, in the first decade in this century, we lost 55,000 factories and 6,000,000 manufacturing jobs.

Does Flake see no correlation between America’s decline, China’s rise, and the $4 trillion in trade surpluses Beijing has run up at the expense of his own country? (Patrick J. Buchanan: Why Is the GOP Terrified of Tariffs? | VDARE - premier news outlet for patriotic immigration reform)​

The United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel) and the AFL-CIO, the biggest American federation of labor unions, as well as Senator Bernie Sanders, with whom I agree 90% on trade, have come out in strong support of President Trump's decision to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. U.S. Steel has also praised Trump's recent tariff hikes on washing machines and solar panels. Let's start with the ALF-CIO statement.

AFL-CIO:

For years, we have called attention to the predatory practices of some steel exporting countries. Such practices hurt working people and cheat companies that produce in the U.S. We applaud the administration's efforts today to fix this problem. Effective enforcement of trade laws, including section 232, is critical to leveling the playing field and ensuring that U.S. steel producers and their employees have a fair shot in the global economy. Secretary Ross, Ambassador Lighthizer and Director Navarro have rightly advocated for these actions despite opposition from the Wall Street wing of the administration. This is a great first step toward addressing trade cheating, and we will continue to work with the administration on rewriting trade rules to benefit working people. (Steel and Aluminum Tariffs Good for Working People | AFL-CIO)​

U.S. Steel:

We are pleased to see the President's action on products critical to American manufacturing and energy production. We are hopeful the President will similarly use his authority to establish a broad Section 232 remedy targeting steel imports that threaten U.S. national security by undermining our industry, economic competitiveness and the industrial foundation on which our manufacturing sector rests [this is exactly what Trump is doing by raising steel tariffs]. We believe broad and decisive action against the multitude of foreign producers is fundamental to protecting our national security and American jobs.” (U.S. Steel Issues Statement on Presidential Tariffs on Imported Washing Machines, Solar Panels | United States Steel Corporation)​

Globalists and free traders ignore the fact that a proven result of high tariffs is that they are designed, in part, to encourage foreign companies to manufacture their products in the U.S. The idea is NOT to keep foreign goods out of the country but to induce foreign companies to move production here. If a foreign company moves here, it hires American workers, pays American state and local taxes, and must compete with American companies on a level playing field.

Democratic politicians from the Rust Belt states have voiced support for President Trump's tariff hikes:

Rust-belt Democrats praise Trump's threatened metals tariffs

Democratic congresswoman supports Trump's tariffs: We can't afford to lose US steel production

Brown Welcomes Trump’s Plans to Finally Act on Steel Imports | U.S. Senator for Ohio

Further reading on tariffs, protectionism, and trade:

Free Trade vs. the Republican Party

https://enforcement.trade.gov/download/factsheets/factsheet-prc-alum-ext-adcvd-final-032911.pdf

https://enforcement.trade.gov/steel/license/documents/execsumm.pdf

U.S. Department of Commerce Finds Dumping and Subsidization of Imports of Silicon Metal from Australia, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Norway

Section 232 Reports

U. S. Steel Issues Statement on Department of Commerce Section 232 Report | United States Steel Corporation

Unions praise Trump on steel tariffs

I am the labor union protectionist President. I am also the biggest spending president. I will add more to the debt than Obama did, believe me.

More Democrats will vote for me than any other President ever.

 

[initforme]

A win for unions is a win for workers....trump is union friendly so things are looking up.

 

[basquebromance]

"Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs aren’t just unwise. They miss their target. Allies like European Union and South Korea will be hit the hardest. China, the supposed reason for all this protectionist rubbish, gets off light."

 

[JakeStarkey]

mikegriffith1, we all know who you are, how your goofy theories on economics and history are just invalid.

I think you still follow skousen and jbs and the freemen's institute, so I am not too concerned with your nonsense.

Yes, tariffs will rise prices, cost jobs, and lead to a recession.

However, I think Trump is using the threat to cut some trade deals more favorable to the US with the promise that he won't impose tariffs.

IOW, you did not bother to read the OP or the links. Skousen, Freemen's, JBS? Huuuh?
th
I base my views on tariffs on years of study of economic history, including recent economic history (e.g., China, South Korea, the EU, etc.).

You keep ignoring the fact that we tried the same kind of trade policy that Trump is trying to implement, and it worked fantastically. We became an economic and industrial powerhouse by shielding our major industries and workers with high tariffs and trade restrictions. Republican presidents from Lincoln to Grant to Hayes to Harding to Howard Taft to Teddy Roosevelt backed protective tariffs, and America prospered because of them.

I ask again: Why is it okay for other nations to protect their jobs and industries with tariffs but not okay for America to do so?

"Trade war"?! We've been in a trade war for decades and have been getting clobbered. Look at our trade deficit for the past 30 years. The same nations that have used high tariffs to help their own economies are now whining because Trump wants the U.S. to do the same thing.

Your history seems to end in the 1920s. You left out Herbert Hoover and the tariffs that turned a recession into a depression. Or George Bush's tariffs that he revoked after only 1 year because it did not work. The fact is that there are good jobs going begging because there are not enough people.

I've already answered, with links, the myth that the Hoover-era tariffs made a recession a depression. That is erroneous.

As for the Bush tariffs, it's not that they did not work but that Bush got talked out of them by the globalists and free-trader Republicans.

Our trade deficit is a sign of strength. We are a consumer society so we buy more things than other countries. Mexico has a trade surplus because their per capita income is much lower than ours. You want to be like them? The tariffs are a tax on consumers. They hurt workers in steel using industries.

Myths, myths, and more globalist myths. And you're a Democrat? You might try reading the other side:
Research

MikeGriffith's insistence that the Hoover tariffs did not terribly affect the Great Depression already has been defeated.

No, it has not. You repeat talking points and then declare yourself the winner. The idea that protecting American industries and jobs was any kind of cause of the Great Depression is laughable. Why did high tariffs produce years and years and years of economic growth? How come China has become a global economic power behind an ardently protectionist trade police, including high tariffs?

The Great Depression was triggered when the Federal Reserve suddenly contracted a huge chunk of the money supply.

As for the arguments about the Bush tariffs, they were riddled with some 700 of exemptions and were toothless, which is why they had little hope of doing much good, and then Bush got talked out of them.

Mike, you are the talking point queen in this OP.

Your points, particularly on Hoover and tariffs, were destroyed.

If we are going to have tariffs, thank goodness Mexico and Canada were excluded.

Industry, jobs, and income will be hurt.

Ryan and Hatch and hundreds of other GOP leaders disagree with you.

Go confab with Edward Baiamonte. He might console you.