The head of a Koch-backed conservative group said Thursday he is hopeful that President Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric on trade won’t ultimately be reflected in his actions.
Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips said he was happy to hear Mr. Trump flirt last week with the idea of rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, and is urging the administration to recognize that trade deals like NAFTA have driven down the cost of goods for American consumers.
“Hopefully [with] the president, the rhetorical side of it is winning out over the policy side,” Mr. Phillips said on MSNBC. “We hope that is the case because NAFTA has been good for this country.”
Mr. Phillips noted that Mr. Trump has not scrapped NAFTA and said “we don’t think they are going to in the end.”
“When you have Elizabeth Warren go to Beijing and say I support these tariffs on China or other countries too, trade wars are a good thing, that should tell this administration they are a bad idea because Sen. Warren, will all due respect, has not had a good economic idea in her career,” Mr. Phillips said of the Massachusetts Democrat.
Mr. Trump pulled out TPP shortly after he took office after criticizing it as a bad deal for working-class Americans during the 2016 campaign — putting him at odds with free traders in his party.
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump downplays rejoining Trans-Pacific Partnership, seeks greater trade with Japan
But last week Mr. Trump said he was giving the trade deal another look. That, however, did not last long. On Tuesday, he returned to his original stance.
“While Japan and South Korea would like us to go back into TPP, I don’t like the deal for the United States,” Mr. Trump tweeted on Tuesday. “Too many contingencies and no way to get out if it doesn’t work. Bilateral deals are far more efficient, profitable and better for OUR workers.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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