US Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday said he would throw his support behind the plan of US President Donald Trump to harden the US stance on trade if the targeted country is narrowly focused on China.
Trump has conflated his plan to tariff imported steel and aluminum with the renegotiation of the trilateral Nafta treaty among the US, Mexico and Canada.
“Mr. President: focus on China! Go after China and do it in a smart, focused but sharp-edged way. Don’t create a policy that hurts our allies more than it hurts China and causes China to sort of giggle at our ineffectiveness. A trade war is not what we want. Making China play by the rules is what all Americans want,” Schumer said in a speech in the Senate chamber.
After a year of bold promises, the Trump infrastructure plan proposed just $200 billion in federal funds, financed through cuts to existing programs, demands on local govts, and the private sector would make up the rest.
What will that lead to? #TrumpTolls across the US.— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 7, 2018