Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Kevin Nicholson on Friday defended President Trump’s use of tariffs, saying that the status quo between the U.S. and other nations is not “free trade.”
“I’m a free trader — I believe in the value of free trade. What I’m sick of hearing is professional politicians saying that they’re free traders and that this makes them uncomfortable,” Nicholson said, referring to bipartisan pushback from Republicans and Democrats on Trump’s tariffs.
{mosads}”Politicians like [Sen.] Tammy Baldwin and so many others, Republican and Democrat, have allowed this status quo to develop, and that includes tariffs in China and India,” he continued, using the example of Canadian tariffs on dairy products from Wisconsin.
“So the status quo is not free trade,” he said. “What the president is clearly trying to do, to anyone that is watching, is bring our trade partners back to the negotiating table and say trade’s a good thing, it’s a virtuous thing.”
The Trump administration enraged U.S. allies, including Canada, in May after it announced new tariffs on aluminum and steel products, citing national security concerns.
Trump and China have also gone back and forth as each has slapped tariffs on the other nation’s products.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been critical of Trump’s policies on trade.
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson (R) has been one of Trump’s most vocal critics on the issue of tariffs, saying tariffs have put uncertainty into the U.S. economy.
“The talk of canceling NAFTA and now imposing these steel tariffs have just interjected uncertainty into the economy, where it just wasn’t necessary,” Johnson said earlier this year. “So, I’m really concerned that this is counterproductive, as well as you could really result in retaliatory actions by our trade partners.”
— Julia Manchester
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