On The Money: Trump antagonizes both parties on trade | Surprise tariffs may derail new NAFTA | Business groups blast move | Mexico fires back at ‘unfair’ tariffs

Happy Friday and welcome back to On The Money, where we’re bracing for more expensive everything. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

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THE BIG DEAL–Trump antagonizes both parties on trade: President Trump is facing fire from all sides following his decision to impose new tariffs on exports from Mexico unless that country curbs illegal immigration into the United States.{mosads}

Republicans caught off guard by the surprise move said it went beyond Trump’s authority and warned it would imperil the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement that the White House is pressing Congress to approve.

• “Following through on this threat would seriously jeopardize passage of USMCA, a central campaign pledge of President Trump’s and what could be a big victory for the country,” Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said shortly after the announcement on Thursday.

• Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said if Trump went through with the tariffs, scheduled for introduction on June 10, “I’m afraid progress to get this trade agreement across the finish line will be stifled.“

 

Democrats also ripped Trump’s decision, arguing it was devoid of strategy and all about theater and the news cycle.

“This is yet another stunt by a president who chooses showmanship over strategy and plays dangerous games with the livelihoods of American workers and consumers,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who warned that the tariffs would hit auto workers particularly hard.

Trump has reveled in challenging Washington protocols, particularly on trade. He’s argued that poorly-crafted trade deals that have hurt American workers and sent U.S. jobs overseas, receiving some bipartisan support.

But lawmakers in both parties are increasingly frustrated with the extent of Trump’s trade policy and the specter of new tariffs on crucial U.S. allies. The Hill’s Niv Elis explains here.

 

Trump’s risky power play:  Trump’s shocking announcement of new tariffs on Mexico came hours after his top trade negotiator angered House Democrats by starting the clock on congressional confirmation of an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Trump’s Thursday night power plays have two apparent goals — to speed up approval of the new NAFTA, and to crack down on rising border crossings into the U.S.

But his move to tie trade negotiations to a bitter dispute over immigration enraged lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, raising the odds that the new NAFTA will die on Capitol Hill.

 

So why did he do this? Trump’s new strategy reflects the struggle to advance his trade and immigration agendas. With the presidential primaries less than a year away, the window is beginning to close on gaining congressional approval of the new NAFTA before the 2020 campaign heats up and hinders bipartisan dealmaking.

GOP lawmakers share much of Trump’s concern over immigration and support the new NAFTA. But several Senate Republicans warned that tying the issues together could doom the trade deal. And the proposed tariffs have also strained GOP unity at a critical time for his trade agenda. I explain why here.

 

More from the frontlines of the trade war:

• A majority of Americans in a new poll do not approve of President Trump’s trade policies as the White House engages in a multi-front trade war.

• Mexican officials have condemned President Trump’s proposed tariffs on Mexican goods over illegal immigration into the U.S.

• Business groups in the U.S. are warning President Trump against imposing new tariffs on Mexican imports next month, saying the move would harm American companies and consumers.

• White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Friday said that President Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexico over the flow of migrants should come as no surprise.

• Stocks opened with heavy losses Friday, a day after President Trump announced he would impose tariffs on Mexican goods if the country fails to prevent migrants from crossing the U.S. southern border.

 

ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Monday:

• A House Appropriations Subcommittee marks up the fiscal 2020 financial services and general government spending bill, 7 p.m.

 

Tuesday:

• The Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing entitled “Confronting Threats From China: Assessing Controls on Technology and Investment, and Measures to Combat Opioid Trafficking,” 10 a.m.

• The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing entitled “Protecting American Jobs: Reauthorization of the U.S. Export-Import Bank,” 10 a.m.

• The House Ways and Means Committee holds a Members’ Day hearing on various tax and health care proposals, 10 a.m.

• A House Small Business subcommittee holds a hearing on apprenticeships, training programs and the skills gap, 11:30 a.m.

• A House Financial Services subcommittee holds a hearing on the systemic risk of leveraged lending, 2 p.m.

• A House Oversight subcommittee holds a hearing on federal labor-management relations, 2 p.m.

 

Wednesday:

• The Senate Banking Committee holds a confirmation hearing for six nominees to the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve Board, Commerce Department, Export-Import Bank, and Securities and Exchange Commission, 10 a.m.

• The Securities and Exchange Commission holds a meeting on whether to approve the Regulation Best Interest rule for broker-dealers, 10 a.m.

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau hosts its Summer 2019 advisory board meetings, 12:30 p.m.

• The American Enterprise Institute hosts a conversation on the global economy with Christine Lagard, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, 3 p.m.

 

Thursday:

• CFPB advisory board meetings continue, 10 a.m.

 

GOOD TO KNOW

• The net worth of the average 18- to 35-year-old has plummeted 34 percent since 1996, according to a new study from Deloitte.

• President Trump will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to economist Arthur Laffer, the White House announced Friday.

• The IRS on Friday released a draft for a new withholding form that is meant to be simpler and reflect changes in the tax code from the 2017 GOP tax law.

• China’s foreign ministry issued a statement Friday warning Canada’s government against working with the Trump administration in its trade fight with Beijing.

 

ODDS AND ENDS

• Utah’s Republican governor on Friday unveiled a Medicaid overhaul proposal that would cap how much the federal government spends on each recipient, a long-held conservative goal, setting up a test for the Trump administration on whether to approve the change.

• A coalition of business groups is rallying against a federal proposal that would allow phone carriers to block certain calls by default, an effort to crack down on illegal robocalls.