By: Jialun Wang
National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn announced his resignation last Tuesday in a response to President Trump’s anticipated legislation of stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Cohn, a proponent of free trade, will leave the White House steepled with many protectionist-oriented advisors. A registered Democrat, Cohn nearly resigned last summer due to Trump’s response to the Charlottesville protest and had butt heads with Trump over his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accords.
In a statement issued to the public, Cohn said, "It has been an honor to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to benefit the American people. I am grateful to the President for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the Administration great success in the future."
Mr. Cohn’s resignation, along with the resignations of long-time advisor Hope Hicks and staff secretary Rob Porter last month, has created a sense of a polarized atmosphere in Washington. Many congressional Republicans, including Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan, have expressed concern with Trump’s protectionist policies.
“I think there just seems to be a difference of opinion between the president and the White House on that topic, and the rank-and-file Republicans,” said Senator Cornyn (R-TX). “I have been concerned and I am still concerned about NAFTA.”
The tariffs, which mandate a 25% fee on steel products and a 10% fee on aluminum goods, has also sparked fears of a looming trade war with the European Union.
Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU commissioner for trade, argues that the tariff will “put thousands of European jobs in jeopardy.” The EU is the single largest exporter of steel to the US.
The provisional list of items the EU may target includes steel, t-shirts, bed linen, chewing tobacco, cranberries, and orange juice, an overall business worth around $3.5 billion in imports. In comparison, the EU imported around $310 billion worth of goods from the US in 2016.
While President Trump tweeted that “trade wars are good and easy to win,” European Council President Donald Tusk stated that trade wars are “bad and easy to lose” and that the EU would prefer to not trigger such a dispute.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/business/trump-tariffs-eu-trade.html
https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2018/03/tariff-rifts-0
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43325060
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/06/585786755/white-house-economic-adviser-gary-cohn-quits