GOP Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE), the top Republican on the Ways and Means trade subcommittee, is not an advocate of President Donald Trump's punitive use of tariffs, according to new reporting by Politico.
Smith told reporter Ari Hawkins at a Tuesday morning breakfast that he's “'not a huge fan of tariffs,' like the ones Trump threatened to levy on Canada and Mexico and slapped on China over the weekend. But he said that 'we need to come to terms' with the fact that Trump is bent on using them to achieve his economic and security aims."
Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada over the weekend over what he called a "drug war" with "hundreds of thousands of people" dying in the U.S. "from drugs pouring through the Borders of Mexico and Canada."
Trump temporarily rescinded the order for one month after phone conversations with both countries' leaders Monday. A 10% tariff on China went into effect at midnight on Monday, prompting retaliatory tariffs to go into effect against the U.S.
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Hawkins wrote, "Smith said he is wary about such retaliation, particularly when it’s targeted at American farmers. 'That’s a concern, certainly it is,' he said. 'Hearing from producers, they really prefer to produce for a market, and not just looking for payments, so whatever is done I hope is very temporary … and temporary in its overall application,' Smith added."
“I don't want to become dependent on tariff revenue, because that speaks to the fact that it's just another tax," Smith said.
Hawkins wrote, "Smith, however, praised Trump’s role in negotiating the revised version of the North American Free Trade Agreement, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, which Trump signed into law during his first administration. He added that the former Biden administration failed to go far enough to engage the U.S. with markets abroad."