The push back is slowly gaining momentum Using tariff to rectify trade imbalance is like hitting mosquito with sledge hammer.You never know what is the collateral damage. Harley Davidson is the first but many more will follow. Finger pointing just started. Harley is great company. I feel bad for them
The Latest: Ryan blasts US trade policy over Harley shift
FILE - In this April 26, 2017, file photo, rows of motorcycles are behind a bronze plate with corporate information on the showroom floor at a Harley-Davidson dealership in Glenshaw, Pa. Harley-Davidson, facing rising costs from new tariffs, will begin shifting the production of motorcycles heading for Europe from the U.S. to factories overseas. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and Harley-Davidson (all times local):
11:20 a.m.
House Speaker Paul Ryan is criticizing Trump administration trade policy after Harley-Davidson cited retaliatory tariffs as why it's shifting some production of motorcycles overseas.
The Wisconsin Republican tells reporters Tuesday he doesn't think tariffs "are the right way to go." He didn't mention President Donald Trump by name but says tariffs are "basically taxes."
Trump has imposed tariffs on aluminum and steel imported from Europe and elsewhere. Those countries retaliated with tariffs of their own.
Trump has previously cited the motorcycle maker as an example of a U.S. company hurt by foreign trade barriers. Tuesday he threatened Harley-Davidson, saying shifting production would be "the beginning of the end."
Ryan says the U.S. should counter unfair trading practices, but says, "There are better tools than tariff increases."
Harley-Davidson is based in Milwaukee.
Hundreds of trade groups rally behind effort to limit Trump’s tariff power
‘As you know, Article I of the Constitution assigns the Congress exclusive authority to regulate foreign trade and levy taxes, including tariffs’
By ASIA TIMES STAFF JUNE 27, 2018 1:24 AM (UTC+8
A tidal wave of outrage against US President Donald Trump’s trade policy is forming, and through representatives in Congress, businesses are arguing, they have a constitutionally mandated means to strip the president of unlimited authority to disrupt global trade.
Hundreds of national and state business associations have voiced support for legislation in the Senate that would limit the powers some lawmakers say Trump is abusing with recent trade action.
“As you know, Article I of the Constitution assigns the Congress exclusive authority to regulate foreign trade and levy taxes, including tariffs,” the groups, which include the US Chamber of Commerce,
to the Senate.
“The Congress used this power to delegate to the President the authority to impose tariffs, without Congressional oversight, to safeguard national security in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. While the President should still have this type of authority, the current circumstances highlight the need for Congress to ensure that the authority will be used, as intended by the Congress, in the overall national interest,” the letter said.
The letter went on to voice support for legislation introduced earlier this month by Republican Senator Bob Corker, which would place some limits on executive branch trade authority.
“While we all agree on the need to ensure the international trade system is fair for American workers, companies and consumers, unfortunately, the administration is abusing the Section 232 authority delegated to the president by Congress,”
in an address to Congress several weeks ago.
“Making claims regarding national security to justify what is inherently an economic question not only harms the very people we all want to help and impairs relations with our allies but also could invite our competitors to retaliate. If the president truly believes invoking Section 232 is necessary to protect the United States from a genuine threat, he should make the case to Congress and to the American people and do the hard work necessary to secure congressional approval.”