March 08, 2018 03:23 PM UTC

Trump Does Tariffs

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the New York Times (and everyone else) reports:

President Trump defied opposition from his own party and protests from overseas on Thursday as he signed orders imposing stiff and sweeping new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. But he sought to soften the impact on America’s closest allies with a more flexible plan than originally envisioned.

After a week of furious lobbying and a burst of last-minute internal debates and confusion, Mr. Trump agreed to exempt, for now, Canada and Mexicoand held out the possibility of later excluding allies such as Australia. But foreign leaders warned of a trade war that could escalate to other industries and be aimed at American goods…

…Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, said on Thursday that a plan to impose broad tariffs that hit allies was “dangerous” and could undermine national security.

“If you put tariffs against your allies,” Mr. Draghi said at a news conference in Frankfurt, “one wonders who the enemies are.”

The tariffs will officially take effect in 15 days.