I think this point has not been mentioned enough: Trump's steel tariff threat may have been perfectly timed for the PA-18th Special Election
Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said Trump’s stance on steel and aluminum tariffs could help Republicans, not only in southwestern Pennsylvania, but across the industrial Midwest.
“The timing definitely helps Saccone,” O’Connell said.
The 18th District covers steel, farm and coal country on the West Virginia border, as well as well-to-do Pittsburgh suburbs. Trump won the district by nearly 20 points in the November 2016 presidential election, helping him carry the pivotal battleground state.
Many have noted that threatening the tariff could incite a trade war, which would hurt Americans all around the country.
That's what some farmers of soybeans in the Midwestern state are saying as they look to the former governor and now US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad to help avoid a US-China trade war that might target US soybean exports to China — the biggest buyer of US soybeans. It imported about $14 billion worth of US soybeans in 2016, or 60 percent of the total US crop, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Iowa is the second-largest soybean producing state after Illinois. There are roughly 70,000 to 80,000 soybean farmers in the two states, according to 2012 USDA census data.
Of course, Iowa, Nebraska and even Illinois are not alone. One of the most reliable exports from the United States are food crops — agriculture — and a trade war puts all of that at risk.
The fact of the matter is, that most Americans rely on and benefit from cheap goods that come from other countries, including China. Not only does imposing a tariff on foreign steel blatantly contradict the Republicans’ alleged claims of supporting a free market free from government meddling, but it directly threatens the way of life of many middle-class, hardworking American people. Such a tariff makes no sense in today’s American economy.
However, it makes sense if the threat is directly meant to sway voters in the PA-18th District, which still has a lot of steelworkers. One can see the intended effect already playing out in the most recent debate between candidates Conor Lamb and Rick Saccone, where both said they would support the steel tariff.
“For too long, China has been making cheap steel, and they’ve been flooding the market with it.” Lamb said. “I actually think this [tariff plan] is long overdue.”
Saccone responded by saying that Pennsylvania workers have been hurt by Democratic policies, which according to Saccone, have led to over-regulation and higher taxes and, in turn, driven jobs to other states.
“I’ve stood up for the union workers, and that’s why they vote for me in droves,” Saccone said.
When put in this light, Trump’s threats of a steel tariff, which some observers had been struck by how out-of-the-blue they came, make the most logical sense. Whether or not the tariffs really get imposed, they served their political purpose, which was to advance Trump’s agenda in the 18th District, helping his stature, and countering any negative Trump backlash that may have been building, similar to what helped Doug Jones and Democrats claim the Senate seat in Alabama last year.
In any time in American History prior to 2016, such naked political manipulations may have seemed surreal. The idea that the President of the United States would risk starting a trade war, unilaterally dictating a foreign policy that seems purely designed to advance their selfish political agenda, pitting Americans all over the country against a regional demographic, should not be an idea that has much life in a government system outside of a Banana Republic, let alone the United States.
But here we are.
This level of political manipulation should not be allowed to progress any further. For the health of this Republic, we need a strong and forceful rejection of such blatant treachery. And the most direct way to do this, would be to support Conor Lamb, and make sure he defeats Rick Saccone, a person so far up Donald Trump’s ass, he is the only one who can look Trump square in the eye.
Let’s help Conor Lamb achieve an underdog victory, the likes of which we have not seen since Doug Jones, and send more Republicans running for the exits!
Tuesday, Mar 6, 2018 · 8:07:12 PM +00:00
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pierre9045
Just posted by Jen Hayden: Trump’s tariffs could cost the US 146,000 jobs.
President Trump's proposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum will increase U.S. employment in those sectors by 33,000 jobs, but cost 179,000 jobs in other areas of the economy, according to a new report by The Trade Partnership, a consulting firm. This isn't accounting for any potential retaliation from other countries.
The Trade Partnership says for every one job these tariffs create, FIVE jobs will be lost. As noted in the report below, that doesn’t even account for retribution by other countries, will will undoubtedly cost even more American jobs.
However, when the tariffs get mentioned between now and next week, don’t be surprised if Saccone and Trump bring up all those steel jobs, without mentioning the 5-times as many jobs that will be lost everywhere else.