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Mitt Romney Slams Trump Tariffs, Calls Them A ‘Tax On Americans’

By Damir Mujezinovic
Published on: 08:22 PST, Jul 6, 2018

Businessman, politician, and the Republican Party’s nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 election seems to have joined the anti-Trump alliance within the GOP. In a statement published today, Romney criticized Donald Trump’s tariffs, calling them a “tax on Americans,” The Hill reports.

“Trade wars are a tax on Americans. They have severe consequences for many employers and inevitably cost Americans jobs.”

Romney’s statement has, published on his official Twitter page, features staunch criticism of Donald Trump’s fiscal policies which, Romney claims, will not only cost Americans jobs but also jeopardize the agriculture sector. Instead of provoking trade wars and introducing tariffs, according to Romney, the Trump administration should compete against the rest of the world, opening itself to new markets, entering trade partnerships, and negotiating better trade agreements with other countries.

This was not the first time for Romney to publicly criticize the POTUS. In March 2016, according to BBC, he called Trump a “fraud.” Later on, however, Romney changed his mind. In a recent interview with the Washington Examiner, Romney praised the president, claiming he had done “better than expected.”

In today’s statement, Republican Candidate for U.S. Senate in Utah said that Trump’s tariffs would be particularly punishing for this state, which manages to export more than it imports while facing challenging public land policies, drought, and wildfire.

As Reuters reported today, Chinese Commerce Ministry said that the country has been forced to respond and fight back against American trade “bullying.” This was announced after Trump’s tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports had taken effect. The United States will, the ministry said, cause global turmoil, and severely harm worldwide supply and value chains.

Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, said that “today is the first day of the war with China.” Whether deliberately or not, Dalio left out the word “trade” in today’s tweet, perhaps indicating that the trade war with China could case a lot more than simply economic damage.

In a LinkedIn post published in May this year, Dalio warned of the “tragic” effects the China-U.S. trade war could have on both countries, as well as the global economy, writing that the market would react to Donald Trump’s aggressive posture the same way it would react if the U.S. was to enter into an actual military war.

“What will come after that will be more important. I wouldn’t expect it to amount to much anytime soon. If on the other hand we see an escalating series of tit for tats, then we should worry,” Dalio warned.

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