US Senator Hatch urges Trump administration to change course on tariff policy

WASHINGTON - US Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch on Tuesday urged the Trump administration to change course on its global tariff policy that would hurt American businesses and consumers.

"The administration has implemented or threatened global tariffs on approximately $500 billion of goods," Hatch said on the Senate floor, adding these actions put American families and businesses at risk and threaten to undermine the success of US tax reform.

"Some of my colleagues have been pressing the need for legislation to restrict the trade authorities that Congress has delegated to the president, and I have been sympathetic to their efforts," he said.

Alarmed by the Trump administration's trade policy, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker and several other senators last month had introduced legislation that would compel the president to get congressional approval before imposing tariffs on the grounds of national security.

"If the administration continues forward with its misguided and reckless reliance on tariffs, I will work to advance trade legislation to curtail presidential trade authority," Hatch said, noting he was discussing legislative options with other lawmakers.

Hatch also said that he would much rather work with the administration to resuming negotiations with American trading partners and it's time for the president to undertake that effort.

"The administration's actions on trade have hurt American manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, workers, and families. The president has asked all of those groups to endure losses so that he can negotiate winning trade agreements. All are watching to see what the president will achieve at the negotiating table in return for their sacrifice," he said.

Hatch's remarks came after the Trump administration unilaterally imposed high tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products, provoking strong opposition from the domestic business community and retaliatory measures from US trading partners.

"The risk that current trade tensions escalate further-with adverse effects on confidence, asset prices, and investment-is the greatest near-term threat to global growth," Maurice Obstfeld, chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Monday, adding "countries must resist inward-looking thinking."