Trump's tariff plan could face resistance in GOP-led Congress
President-elect Donald Trump could face a major obstacle in implementing a plan to impose a 35 percent tariff on companies that leave the U.S. as lawmakers push back at his proposal.
During a briefing with reporters Monday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, indicated he wasn’t really supportive of the plan.
“I don’t want to get into some type of trade war,” McCarthy said, according to The Hill newspaper. “I think there are other ways to achieve what the president-elect is talking about...but the only way you can do any of this is you’ve got to do tax reform. And that’s why I think that will be a cornerstone of what we do.”
Over the weekend, Mr. Trump threatened on Twitter that he would punish companies that move their jobs overseas by imposing a 35 percent tariff on their products.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, appeared skeptical of the proposal, too, according to Time magazine.
“Some of these things do have to face a harsh reality but you have to be very careful if you’re going to add costly tariffs,” he said. “We’re all going back to the ‘30s when they started playing around with this and that and caused a lot of trouble.”
Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, was also asked by Time whether he’d back such a plan and he responded, “No!,” according to the report.