SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Donald Trump models a hard hat in support of the miners during his rally at the Charleston Civic Center on May 5, 2016 in Charleston, West Virginia. Trump became the Republican presumptive nominee following his landslide win in indiana on Tuesday.(Photo by Mark Lyons/Getty Images)
Want to Get Trump to Start a Trade War? Follow Steel Industry's Lead and Buy Some Ad Time on Fox & Friends
"Tariffs are economically destructive and regressive. Imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum is bad policy for the vast majority of Americans."
Mar 01, 2018
Despite opposition from much of his entire cabinet and warnings that imposing strict tariffs on steel imports would likely harm many American workers while sparking a trade war, President Donald Trump on Thursday decided to go ahead with the punishing import restrictions anyway--just days after the steel industry launched a massive ad blitz aired on TV programs "Trump has been known to watch."
"Tariffs are economically destructive and regressive. Imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum is bad policy for the vast majority of Americans."
--Richard Phillips, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
"We hope the president will see the ad and approves of the message," said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which funded the six-figure ad buy that appeared on Fox, CNN, and MSNBC.
Aired for the first time on Tuesday, the ads implored Trump--who reportedly watches four hours of TV per day--to "take action" and declared that "America's workers are counting on you to protect our jobs and to defend our national security. It's time to keep the promise and to protect American Steel."
As the New York Times reported shortly after Trump's announcement, one of the ads ran during "Fox & Friends," reportedly the president's favorite show, before Trump sent this tweet on Thursday:
Trump has long approved of this message trumpeted by the steel industry--making it one of the central planks of his campaign--but hesitated to take action on it as members of his administration argued the move would likely provoke retaliation from other countries, China in particular.
On Thursday, Trump flouted these warnings and announced that he will impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum. While many crucial details of the plan are murky and still being written, Trump is expected to formally sign the trade measures as early as next week.
Almost immediately after Trump announced his plan during a hastily-organized meeting with steel and aluminum executives, the stock market began to plummet, other nations pledged to enact countermeasures, and analysts repeated warnings that tariffs will not reverse the steel industry's decline and could lead to massive job losses, just as they did in 2002.
While labor-backed economists recognize the role tariffs can play in protecting some jobs in the steel industry, other experts concluded that Trump's approach is a long way from a progressive or sound trade policy.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Despite opposition from much of his entire cabinet and warnings that imposing strict tariffs on steel imports would likely harm many American workers while sparking a trade war, President Donald Trump on Thursday decided to go ahead with the punishing import restrictions anyway--just days after the steel industry launched a massive ad blitz aired on TV programs "Trump has been known to watch."
"Tariffs are economically destructive and regressive. Imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum is bad policy for the vast majority of Americans."
--Richard Phillips, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
"We hope the president will see the ad and approves of the message," said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which funded the six-figure ad buy that appeared on Fox, CNN, and MSNBC.
Aired for the first time on Tuesday, the ads implored Trump--who reportedly watches four hours of TV per day--to "take action" and declared that "America's workers are counting on you to protect our jobs and to defend our national security. It's time to keep the promise and to protect American Steel."
As the New York Times reported shortly after Trump's announcement, one of the ads ran during "Fox & Friends," reportedly the president's favorite show, before Trump sent this tweet on Thursday:
Trump has long approved of this message trumpeted by the steel industry--making it one of the central planks of his campaign--but hesitated to take action on it as members of his administration argued the move would likely provoke retaliation from other countries, China in particular.
On Thursday, Trump flouted these warnings and announced that he will impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum. While many crucial details of the plan are murky and still being written, Trump is expected to formally sign the trade measures as early as next week.
Almost immediately after Trump announced his plan during a hastily-organized meeting with steel and aluminum executives, the stock market began to plummet, other nations pledged to enact countermeasures, and analysts repeated warnings that tariffs will not reverse the steel industry's decline and could lead to massive job losses, just as they did in 2002.
While labor-backed economists recognize the role tariffs can play in protecting some jobs in the steel industry, other experts concluded that Trump's approach is a long way from a progressive or sound trade policy.
Despite opposition from much of his entire cabinet and warnings that imposing strict tariffs on steel imports would likely harm many American workers while sparking a trade war, President Donald Trump on Thursday decided to go ahead with the punishing import restrictions anyway--just days after the steel industry launched a massive ad blitz aired on TV programs "Trump has been known to watch."
"Tariffs are economically destructive and regressive. Imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum is bad policy for the vast majority of Americans."
--Richard Phillips, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
"We hope the president will see the ad and approves of the message," said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which funded the six-figure ad buy that appeared on Fox, CNN, and MSNBC.
Aired for the first time on Tuesday, the ads implored Trump--who reportedly watches four hours of TV per day--to "take action" and declared that "America's workers are counting on you to protect our jobs and to defend our national security. It's time to keep the promise and to protect American Steel."
As the New York Times reported shortly after Trump's announcement, one of the ads ran during "Fox & Friends," reportedly the president's favorite show, before Trump sent this tweet on Thursday:
Trump has long approved of this message trumpeted by the steel industry--making it one of the central planks of his campaign--but hesitated to take action on it as members of his administration argued the move would likely provoke retaliation from other countries, China in particular.
On Thursday, Trump flouted these warnings and announced that he will impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum. While many crucial details of the plan are murky and still being written, Trump is expected to formally sign the trade measures as early as next week.
Almost immediately after Trump announced his plan during a hastily-organized meeting with steel and aluminum executives, the stock market began to plummet, other nations pledged to enact countermeasures, and analysts repeated warnings that tariffs will not reverse the steel industry's decline and could lead to massive job losses, just as they did in 2002.
While labor-backed economists recognize the role tariffs can play in protecting some jobs in the steel industry, other experts concluded that Trump's approach is a long way from a progressive or sound trade policy.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy