COMMENTARY

by Hugh Stephens

iPolitics
May 31, 2018

Donald Trump’s latest threat to impose auto tariffs on the basis of national security concerns — unlike the steel and aluminum tariffs announced today — should be taken for exactly what it is: A bluff.

The move is part of a long litany of American pressure tactics and threats of protectionism, using “creative” interpretations of trade laws.

Some of the threats are real, such as the recently imposed tariff on newsprint, a tax on U.S. newspapers and consumers in order to mollify a particular industrial constituency. Others are part of escalating U.S. pressure as part of the NAFTA negotiations.

Image credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh

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