Trump Advisers Fervently Defend Tariffs (Unless They Change, That Is)
By ANA SWANSONMARCH 4, 2018
WASHINGTON — The White House continued to sow uncertainty on Sunday about the stiff tariffs President Trump said he would impose on steel
and aluminum imports as key advisers defended the policy but left room for the president to change his plans.
“As soon as he starts exempting countries, he has to raise the tariff on everybody else,” Mr. Navarro said on “Fox News
Sunday.” “As soon as he exempts one country, his phone starts ringing from the heads of state of other countries.”
But Mr. Navarro left room for change in the timing of the tariffs, which the president said would be signed this week.
“You’re letting China off the hook,” Mr. Graham said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “China wins when we fight with Europe.”
Joshua B. Bolten, the head of the Business Roundtable and chief of staff in the George W. Bush administration, called the tariffs “a huge mistake.”
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Mr. Bolten acknowledged
that the president was trying to fulfill his campaign promises and help American workers in the steel and aluminum industries.
Mr. Trump rattled stock markets last week with his impromptu announcement
that he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports and as business executives said the president would make no country exceptions.
