Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday that President Trump’s plan to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could result in more job losses than gains.
Mr. Cruz said the devil will be in the details, and he hopes Mr. Trump’s proposal never comes to fruition.
“I think tariffs on steel and aluminum are a mistake,” the Texas Republican said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I think there are a lot more jobs in this country that are dependent on steel and aluminum as inputs, and we are going to end up costing more jobs because of the tariffs than will be saved, and that doesn’t even factor into account the retaliatory tariffs that we may see Europe and China and other trading partners do, which could hurt farmers, manufacturers.”
Mr. Trump’s proposal has faced stiff opposition from Republicans on Capitol Hill who share Mr. Cruz’s concerns.
“At this point, he made an off-the-cuff moment, and the details will matter more,” he said. “’My hope is that either this doesn’t get implemented, or it gets implemented in a fairly small way.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.