White House defends tariffs strategy

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The White House continues to defend President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs on imports from around the world. 

“I don’t change my mind, but I’m flexible,” the president said in the Oval Office Monday following a debate over the weekend on whether the administration is offering exemptions.

President Trump announced he is considering a temporary pause for the auto industry and has extended one for electronics as he plans to unveil new tariffs soon on semiconductors and pharmaceutical drugs.

“The higher the tariff, the faster they come,” the president said.

President Trump said he is convinced his tariff policy will bring countries to the negotiating table, but right now, China, who is facing the steepest U.S. tariff, is still retaliating. The country is now suspending exports of critical minerals and magnets many U.S. industries rely on, from automakers to semiconductor companies.

“We have got to cut our dependence on Communist China,” said U.S. Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.).

Alford stressed the U.S. is almost on “war-time footing” with China.

“Something like World War II, where Americans really had to buckle down and save and sacrifice,” Alford said.

While Republicans in Congress maintain the tariffs will be worth it in the long-run, Democrats argue many American consumers and companies do not have that kind of time.

“These tariffs, though, are killing us,” said U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.).

“The tariffs that have been opposed are a nightmare,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

“So much of what the tariff policy is is about raising prices across the board,” said U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.).

Castor, Blumenthal and Gottheimer all held tariff-related events back home Monday while Congress is on a two-week Easter recess. They said their constituents cannot plan for the future when the president’s policies keep changing.

“The typical Trump flip-flop,” Gottheimer said. 

Democrats want Congress to step in to block President Trump’s tariffs, but before leaving Washington, Republicans in both chambers passed measures to prohibit pushback on the president’s plan.