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US lawmakers hammer commerce secretary Ross over trade
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Indignant US lawmakers on Wednesday
grilled Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on President Donald Trump’s multi-
front trade offensive, saying it risked spiraling out of control and damaging
the American economy.
Pleading for an assortment of interests — from nail manufacturers in
Missouri to cherry growers in Washington state — senators told Ross US trade
policies are alienating allies and jeopardizing US livelihoods.
“Mister secretary, as you consider these tariffs, know that you are taxing
American families,” said Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, chairman of the Senate
Finance Committee.
“You are putting American jobs at risk, and you are destroying markets,
both foreign and domestic, for American businesses of all types, sorts and
sizes.”
Hatch said Trump’s threatened tariffs of 25 percent on the auto sector
would amount to a $73 billion tax increase on American consumers and endanger
200,000 jobs and $65 billion in annual auto exports.
Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa whose home state soybean
growers are heavily dependent on exports to China, blasted the administration
for pursuing “a government-run mercantilist economy as opposed to a free-
market economy.”
The chorus of criticism amounted to a rare rebuke of a sitting president
by the members of his own party.
Global markets have shuddered at the brinksmanship over trade between
Beijing and Washington.
US President Donald Trump threatened Monday to put tariffs on the vast
majority of China’s exports to the United States — leaving the door open to
further retaliation by China.
Ross countered that in Trump’s view, the United States was already the
loser in a long-standing trade war and was only now beginning to fight back.
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– Suddenly taking action? –
He said that, despite the hue and cry, Trump’s aggressive moves had pushed
US trading partners to combat harmful supply gluts in the metals trade.
“Suddenly Europe is enacting safeguards against steel dumping into Europe.
They didn’t do much before,” he said.
“Canada is taking action. Japan for the first time has created an
enforcement body … to deal with the problem.”
“While they’re complaining bitterly about the tariffs, the fact is they’re
starting to take the kind of action which if they had taken sooner would have
prevented this crisis,” Ross said.
Grassley said Iowa soybean farmers had seen prices plummet just because of
market uncertainty.
“Even if farmers don’t have to sell their physical crop right now, the
sudden volatility in the market can increase the cost of hedging and in some
cases require margin calls for those who are long in the market,” he said,
calling on the White House to tone down threats that could provoke Chinese
retaliation.
When asked what the administration would do to help cushion the blow for
farmers, he said that was up to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
“I am not familiar with all the tools the secretary –,” he said, before
being swiftly interrupted by Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet.
“How can you not be familiar with them? You have come here and testified
that’s how you are going to solve the issue.”
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