Republicans praise Trump tariff threat as smart negotiating strategy as he looks to tackle fentanyl, border crises
Republican lawmakers are praising President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to punish Canada, China and Mexico with broad-based tariffs as a shrewd “negotiation strategy” to help curb the fentanyl and border crises — despite economists fearing they could tank the economy.Rep.Dan Crenshaw said Trump has a proven track record that his threats work — pointing to the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which required asylum-seekers trying to cross the southern border to wait in Mexico until their cases were heard.“This is how Trump got the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy done in the first place,” Crenshaw (R-Texas) said on Fox News Tuesday.
“He threatened a tariff, the tariff never came to be.He added, “I don’t need to teach anyone Economics 101.
Tariffs will hurt the American consumer, that’s true, but they also make for good negotiation tools.Especially when those tariffs will hurt Mexico a lot worse than it’ll hurt us.”On Monday, Trump vowed to impose a 25% blanket tax on all goods coming in from Canada and Mexico if they fail to curtail the border and fentanyl crises.The soon-to-be 47th president also threatened to slap a 10% across-the-board duty on China — in addition to current tariffs on products from Beijing — unless it reins in drug flow from its markets into the US.
Beijing does face existing tariffs from the US.Before Trump’s announcement, Treasury Secretary designee Scott Bessent suggested that tariffs could be used as a “maximalist negotiating position.” Other allies of the president-elect such as Commerce Secretary-designate Howard Lutnick have similarly suggested that it would be a bargaining chip.“You’ve got to negotiate and that’s what Trump gets.That’s what people don’t understand.
That’s what those clowns in Washington don’t get,” Rep.Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) bragged about the economic prospects to Real America’s Voice.
Other GOP skeptics of tariffs largely appear to be keeping their powder dry on Trump�...