CEI Condemns Trump Decision on Steel and Aluminum Tariffs
Today, the Trump administration announced additional steel and aluminum tariffs on America’s allies, including the European Union, Canada, and Mexico. As a staunch supporter of free trade, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) strongly condemns these actions and urges President Trump to change course immediately to prevent harming the U.S. economy and imposing higher costs on Americans nationwide.
The tariffs will go into effect on June 1, 2018. The European Union has already announced it will launch legal proceedings against the United States with the World Trade Organization to challenge Trump’s actions.
CEI fellow Ryan Young:
“President Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs against our allies are a huge mistake. While the tariffs could potentially save 33,000 steel jobs, the harms to downstream industries from automobiles to construction to food production could result in a net loss of 146,000 American jobs. It also encourages America’s biggest trading partners to raise their trade barriers, harming their economies as well as ours.
“Trump’s tariff will almost certainly lose any challenge at the World Trade Organization, handing the administration a black eye for no good reason. The European Union has already announced just such a challenge. To boost the economy and win allies abroad, President Trump should lower trade barriers, not raise them.”
More from CEI on this issue:
- “Steel and Aluminum Tariffs a Massive Net Loss for U.S. Economy,” (Ryan Young, April 2018)