[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 94 (Thursday, June 7, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S3274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Tariffs

  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, I rise to sound the alarm about the 
President's decision to impose steep tariffs on our trading partners.
  Make no mistake, we are not, as some administration officials have 
suggested, in the leisurely early innings of a baseball game. We are in 
the nascent stages of a full-scale trade war. Despite the President's 
statement that this war will be easily won, any student of history 
knows that unlike a baseball game, in which a winner is guaranteed, a 
trade war only guarantees there will be losers.
  Free trade allows the most efficient allocation of labor and capital. 
Protectionism, on the other hand, stifles innovation and reduces 
productivity. Recognition of this philosophy has been as close to a 
consensus as this body has achieved in more than 70 years, and the 
application of these principles has provided the foundation for growth 
and prosperity that was unimagined by previous generations.
  If tariffs aimed at our adversaries produce disastrous results, what 
will happen when we target our allies?
  Imagine claiming that imports from Canada represent a national 
security threat. Well, that is exactly what we are doing. Canada is our 
largest trading partner--a trading partner, coincidentally, with whom 
we enjoy a trade surplus. Just yesterday, we learned of a phone call in 
which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau challenged the President's 
use of national security as a justification for levying tariffs against 
a steadfast ally. These new tariffs imposed on our allies will not and 
are not going unanswered. A number of them have already introduced 
retaliatory measures.
  In March, when the tariffs on steel and aluminum were first 
announced, I proposed legislation to block their implementation. 
Yesterday, I joined with a bipartisan group of Senators, led by Senator 
Corker, in introducing legislation to rein in the President's use of 
section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to justify protectionist 
measures. This bipartisan group includes Senators from coast to coast 
and from across the political spectrum.
  The Constitution grants Congress the preeminent role in regulating 
trade and tariffs. Congress must show leadership on this issue. We are 
elected to be leaders, not followers here. It is not our charge to just 
go along because the President shares our party affiliation, to throw 
out our long-held beliefs just because they might complicate our 
political standing.