Mitch McConnell Slams Trump's Tariffs

Tariffs are "bad policy" that drive up costs "for consumers across the board," according to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

McConnell, the 82-year-old former Senate Republican leader and an adversary of President Donald Trump, wrote a Wednesday opinion column for Louisville's Courier Journal to explain to his constituents what he thinks about tariffs.

Trump on Monday made good on a promise to slap 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, stepping up a long-promised trade war despite warnings from Europe and China.

The president has delayed imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico after the two allies took steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking. He also paused imposing tariffs on small-value packages arriving from China.

"[I]t's high time for America's closest neighbors to take the crisis at our border seriously," McConnell wrote in his column. "But no matter our best intentions, tariffs are bad policy. As Sen. Rand Paul, [R-Ky.,] put it: 'Tariffs are simply taxes … Taxing trade will mean less trade and higher prices.'"

"So Republicans ought to be clear-eyed about the full, unadulterated impact of tariffs as we work to restore sound fiscal policy to our government."

"Blanket tariffs make it more expensive to do business in America, driving up costs for consumers across the board," McConnell added. "These aren't just abstract concerns. Broad-based tariffs could have long-term consequences right in our backyard."

McConnell mentioned Kentucky's "75,000 family farms that sell their crops around the globe, or the hardworking Kentuckians who craft 95% of the world's bourbon" and workers in the state's auto industry as people who can't afford an increase in prices.

"One estimate suggests the president's tariffs could cost the average Kentuckian up to $1,200 each year," McConnell wrote.

After writing that "holding China and other anti-competitive countries accountable for predatory practices that abuse our system should absolutely be an urgent priority," McConnell added that "the long-term prosperity of American industry and workers requires working with our allies, not against them."

"Trade wars with our partners hurt working people most. And the president has better tools to protect American workers without forcing our families and businesses to absorb higher costs," the senator wrote.

"As the president and Republicans work to undo the damage of the last four years, we ought to strengthen our friendships abroad, and reinforce our allies as pillars of American prosperity and security. At a time when Americans are tightening their belts, we would do well to avoid policies that heap on the pain."

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