It's clear who sees tariffs as a political winner in Washington. It isn't Trump's side
CBC
Some of Donald Trump's friends in Washington suddenly sound nervous about him having the keys to the economy. A few are even talking about wrenching them away.
There are a few nascent efforts to pare back the U.S. president's legal power to set tariffs, now being used in an unprecedented manner.
Those efforts are a longshot. What's most significant isn't whether they will happen, at least not yet. What's most significant is what they reveal.
And what they reveal is nervousness among Trump allies — on Capitol Hill, which apparently was as stunned by the scope of his tariffs as Wall Street was.
Take Ted Cruz. The Texas senator says he's fine if Trump is doing this as a negotiating ploy. But he's worried Trump might actually be serious about keeping tariffs in place forever.
If these tariffs on allies remain for 30 days, 60 days, 90 days — still damaging the economy — that's a terrible outcome, Cruz says. And he fears this might actually be the plan.
He made a surprisingly stark prediction about what this would mean in next year's midterm elections, if the tariffs cause a recession.
"In all likelihood, politically, it would be a bloodbath," Cruz said on his podcast Friday. "You would face a Democrat House, and you might even face a Democrat Senate."
Wall Street did not expect Trump to follow through, Cruz said, a point underscored by the eye-popping 10 per cent drop in the S&P 500 index this week.
The Republican also pushed back on the idea that these tariffs will only hurt foreigners, or foreign companies. He said a major American car company told him it now expects to increase the average price of a vehicle by $4,500 by this summer.
To his point, it's not clear what Trump's goal is. The White House is sending mixed messages.
On the one hand, the official line is that these tariffs are mostly permanent, and that they'll help raise tax revenue. Yet Trump is also talking about negotiating with Canada. On Friday he suggested he might do the same with Vietnam, after it offered to eliminate its tariffs.
Cruz isn't alone in his consternation.
A couple of Republicans told CNN they're hoping for evidence — quickly — that this is just a negotiating ploy.
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