No. of Recommendations: 13
Lead editorial on the Journal yesterday,, at least online:
One Senator’s Plea for Tariff Breaks
How protectionism works in practice: Public support, but seeking exemptions in private. Alabama Senators wholeheartedly supports tariffs, except, oops, not in my state:
The lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal, yesterday:
Talking up [tariffs] is a way for Republicans to stay on President Trump’s good side, but in practice those tariffs hurt their constituents. Thus the pleas behind closed doors for exemptions. Step right up, Alabama Sen. Katie Britt.
“What the media won’t tell you is that President Trump’s tariffs work,” Ms. Britt wrote in February, after the Supreme Court rejected Mr. Trump’s “emergency” tariffs. “We are not going to return to the status quo of allowing American jobs and manufacturing to be sidelined in exchange for cheap junk from foreign adversaries.”
What Ms. Britt won’t tell you is that she was privately seeking exemptions 10 months earlier. That’s when her legislative director [wrote an email], “Sen. Britt Alabama Trade Priorities,” seeking help for “specific Alabama manufacturers.” We obtained the email from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office via the Freedom of Information Act. The email begins by saying Ms. Britt “is supportive” of rebalancing trade. Then it moves to “four pressing issues,” each a plea for an Alabama company. Then the piece goes on to list numerous exceptions requested including, astonishingly, Airbus (which of course has a plant in Alabama). Never mind that Boeing is one of the largest manufacturing exporters in the US, with tens of thousands of domestic workers.
wsj.com - Katie britt tariff exemptions alabama manufacturersSo thank you Katie Britt for showing the true colors. Good for thee, not for me.
