President Trump’s announcement that he plans to impose stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports threatened the outbreak of a trade war, as foreign governments warned of impending retaliatory measures in the face of new U.S. duties.
Despite the threats, Trump has shown no signs of backing down, tweeting on Friday that “trade wars are good and easy to win.” He doubled down on that notion on Saturday, with a tweet warning that he could impose new tariffs on cars imported from Europe.
Lawmakers from both parties have bristled at the expected tariffs — 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum — expressing concern that the Trump administration is haphazardly barreling toward an international trade war, while neglecting to recognize the potential domestic impact of the tariffs.
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Trump administration officials appeared poised to defend the president’s decision.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, whose department recommended the steel and aluminum tariffs in a report released earlier this year, is set to appear on ABC’s “This Week” and NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
Ross said during an appearance on CNN on Friday that the tariffs’ impacts on Americans would be negligible and brushed off concerns of a trade war as “nonsense.”
Another Trump official, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, is also slated to go on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” CNN’s “State of the Union” and “Fox News Sunday.”
Like Ross, Navarro insisted during an appearance on Fox Business Network on Friday that price increases for certain goods in the U.S. are likely to be minimal, and that growth in the U.S. steel and aluminum industries would make the duties “worth it.”
“A penny for a six pack of beer – that’s worth it to put Americans back to work in two industries that we need,” he said.
Here’s the full Sunday show lineup:
NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Ross and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) will be on the show.
“Fox News Sunday”: Navarro and Joshua Bolten, the president of Business Roundtable, a group of business executives, are set to appear.
CBS’s “Face the Nation”: Navarro, as well as Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will be on. Andrew Pollack, the father of a student killed in a deadly shooting at a South Florida high school last month, is also slated to appear.
CNN’s “State of the Union”: Navarro, Manchin and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) will all be on the show.
ABC’s “This Week”: Ross will make an appearance. He’ll be joined by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Reince Priebus, Trump’s first White House chief of staff.