The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source:
Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:36 PM
President Trump Defends Tariff Decision Delcaring "Trade Wars" Are Good When America On Short End Of Trade Policies
Trump stunned the political world by announcing the move, a policy issue close to his heart for decades, during a listening session Thursday with representatives from the industries. He said he had decided on tariffs of 25 percent for steel and 10 percent for aluminum and would press ahead next week.
Republican lawmakers traditionally in favor of fewer trade barriers reacted warily to the move while the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 400 points on Thursday. In early morning trading Friday, the Dow fell more than 300 points but later recovered, closing down approximately 70 points.
But on Friday, Trump tweeted a point-by-point defense of his protectionist stance -- and embraced the "trade war" his detractors say he's inviting.
“When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win. Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!” Trump tweeted.