Despite pushback, White House defends new tariffs
The White House defended President Trump's decision to introduce new steel and aluminum tariffs in the face of immediate pushback from lawmakers, world leaders, and industry executives -- as well as a sell-off in the stock market. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president has been talking about trade protectionism for a long time.
"It's not a surprise and we are going to continue doing what we can to protect American workers," she told reporters Thursday. "That is something the president committed to during the campaign."
Thursday morning, Mr. Trump announced that his administration would impose a 10 percent tariff on aluminum and a 25 percent tariff on steel, starting next week, for an unspecified amount of time.
Sanders defended the move by saying the president's concern lies with American workers and that they deserve to be protected. She said she was not "aware of" any concerns about potential retaliation by any of the countries that may be affected.
The White House had no additional details on the president's plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.