House Republicans will have the opportunity to press White House economic and trade advisers Larry Kudlow and Peter Navarro on the administration’s handling of tariffs and trade wars during a closed-door meeting on Thursday.
A GOP aide told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that the pair would come to Capitol Hill to talk to the House Republican conference on Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m., during which members will be able to raise complaints and concerns related to ongoing trade matters.
Frustrations will be running higher than normal: The Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that it would make use of a Depression-era law which allows for the government to borrow up to $30 billion from the U.S. Treasury in order to prop up American farmers and to stabilize the industry amid a slew of retaliatory tariffs on American goods resulting from President Trump’s global tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
The move was first reported by Politico and the Washington Post. (Read my colleague Andrew Egger on whether the strategy actually holds water.)
Most Republicans on Capitol Hill were staunchly opposed to the plan when they learned about it, arguing that it represents everything conservatives have stood against for years. Still, few were willing to commit to advancing legislation to curtail Trump’s trade powers in response.
Speaking to reporters, South Dakota Republican John Thune said that the bailout was not what farmers wanted, and that it will be unfair to taxpayers who have to shoulder the burden.
Asked whether the move indicated Trump’s protectionist trade policies were falling short, Thune answered, “It’s an acknowledgment that it has a lot of unintended consequences and creates a lot of collateral damage.”
Senator Mike Rounds agreed, saying he supports Trump’s overarching goal of eliminating unfair trade practices, but that the strategy associated with Trump’s trade feuds with close allies and trading partners remains unclear. “At what point do we start seeing things move out of the chaotic state they’re in right now, and where we actually see new trade agreements where we have free trade?” Rounds asked.
Tennessee Republican Bob Corker has advocated for the passage of a bill that would give Congress a say in supposed national security tariffs imposed by Trump under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which is the provision the White House used to place the steel and aluminum tariffs of 25 percent and 10 percent in effect this spring. On Tuesday, Corker bemoaned the agriculture subsidies.
“The administration creates a problem for farmers and so now they need to put them on welfare,” he summarized. “It’s obviously very poor policy.”
Corker’s colleagues have been reluctant to pass his bill, largely because they fear repercussions from the president. Many claim that dialogue with the White House can be more effective than limiting Trump’s trade powers.
Republican Study Committee chairman Mark Walker said on Tuesday afternoon that he was looking forward to the meeting with Navarro and Kudlow.
“My question for, let’s say, Mr. Navarro would be, what’s your endgame with all of this?” Walker told reporters. “I understand bad trade deals and all that and yes, we need to have not just free trade but fair trade, if you want to use that terminology . . . But explain to me what you see is the positive in all this when the trail ends.”
