'Hurt working people most': GOP senator from deep red state unleashes on Trump’s tariffs

12 February

One of President Donald Trump's core economic policies is attracting significant opposition from within his own party — including a longtime U.S. senator from one of the reddest states in the country.

On Wednesday, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) penned an op-ed for the Louisville Courier-Journal (his hometown newspaper) making the case against Trump's new tariffs on imported goods. Earlier this week, Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum, which comes just after a 10% tariff on goods imported from China. His previously announced 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods has been put on hold for now, after negotiations with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"[N]o matter our best intentions, tariffs are bad policy," McConnell wrote. He quoted Kentucky's junior U.S. senator, Rand Paul, who has previously said that "tariffs are simply taxes."

"Blanket tariffs make it more expensive to do business in America, driving up costs for consumers across the board," McConnell continued. "Broad-based tariffs could have long-term consequences right in our backyard. Consider our state’s 75,000 family farms that sell their crops around the globe, or the hardworking Kentuckians who craft 95% of the world’s bourbon, or our auto industry that relies on global supply chains to support the livelihoods of thousands of workers in the commonwealth."

McConnell pointed out that Trump's tariffs could lead to Kentuckians — and Americans at large – paying roughly $1,200 more per year on average for the goods they typically buy. And he reminded readers that Canada has already announced retaliatory taxes on American products, including Kentucky-made bourbon whiskey. McConnell's staunch opposition to Trump's tariffs is particularly noteworthy given that Trump won Kentucky with 64% of the vote in November, and carried all but two of the Bluegrass State's 120 counties.

"Hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs are tied up, directly or indirectly, in trade with Canada and Mexico," the former Senate Republican leader wrote. "Our neighbors to the north and south buy over half a trillion dollars’ worth of our goods and services each year — including nearly $10 billion in manufactured goods and $300 million in agricultural exports from Kentucky alone."

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

Click here to read McConnell's full op-ed in the Courier-Journal.

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