Additionally, Toomey stated that imposing tariffs during negotiations with trading partners such as Canada, Mexico and the European Union is a “mistake.”
He said, “I think it’s been a mistake, with respect to steel and aluminum, with respect to the European Union, Canada and Mexico, our allies like Japan [and] South Korea. I think it has not been a productive use. I think some of these approaches should be scaled back.”
Sen. Toomey says tariffs are “dangerous and a painful tool”
Furthermore, Toomey emphasized, “Tariffs are not in and of themselves a good thing. Tariffs, at best, can be a tool that might produce good results, but they are themselves dangerous and a painful tool that hits both the country against which the tariffs are being imposed and the country that is doing the imposition.”
“I think the recent developments with China are illustrating this. It’s certainly true that tariffs on Chinese products can be painful for parts of China. Although, oddly, so far Chinese imports to the U.S. have not declined, American exports to China have declined and our trade deficit with China has worsened despite these tariffs,” added Toomey.
