Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Friday he’s “not happy” with the prospects of a trade war with Europe that might hurt his home state’s exports of bourbon.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced new tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, which has spurred retaliation from the allies. Europe said it would retaliate by imposing tariffs of its own on Kentucky bourbon and other items that are meant to target Republican leaders in Congress, and the move seemed to get McConnell’s attention.
“It won’t surprise you to know that I’m among those not happy about the prospect of a trade war,” McConnell told the Greater Louisville Inc.’s Congressional Summit on Friday.
“I don’t think anything good will come out of a trade war, and I hope we pull back from the brink here,” McConnell said. “These tariffs will not be good for the economy, and I worry that it will slow, or impede significantly, the progress we’re making economically.”
McConnell’s opposition to the tariffs are the latest in a line of high profile Republicans who are against the move, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. The move came after the U.S. gave a host of allies two months to work out a deal after announcing the initial round of tariffs back in March, but the deadline expired Thursday night.
Canada has already announced $16.6 billion in retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. — a dollar-for-dollar response that drew a rebuke from Trump soon after. French President Emmanuel Macron told Trump that the move is illegal and a “mistake.”
