Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Newsmax on Monday that he is worried after President Donald Trump over the weekend signed an order to impose stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China.
"I share the market's concerns," Johnson said on "Wake Up America," adding that "I want free trade around the world."
Johnson conceded that there are some problems with international trade being carried out in a fair way and that there can be a place for tariffs as a weapon in this fight, but "in general tariffs are a tax, and when you tax something you get less of it."
"I hope we don't end up with long-term 25% tariffs against each country," he said. "I don't believe that is productive. It is going to hurt American companies, American exporters, it will hurt American consumers long term.
"I can't predict where this all goes. I'm concerned."
Regarding Trump's nominations for Cabinet posts, Johnson said that what they "have in common is they're intelligent, they're articulate, they're unflappable and they're willing to fight. Quite honestly, that's exactly the type of people that President Trump needs in his administration to really combat the Deep State partisans in these agencies."
Johnson added that Trump "comes into office this time smarter and far more wary of what he is going to be confronting, so he has appointed smart people who are willing to fight the bureaucracy."
Johnson said that he thinks Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services is "the right person at the right moment in time."
"Bobby Kennedy knows how to address this corporate capture in these agencies, and it is well past time that we address this problem," Johnson said.
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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