U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is defending President Donald Trump’s decision to continue pressing for tariffs, saying Trump is simply trying to “get American jobs back” with the disputed duties.
Rather, he lays the blame at the feet of his colleagues in the legislative branch.
“Congress has failed,” the second-term Naples Republican said on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
As The Associated Press reports, Trump is undaunted by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against levies he imposed on other countries under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). U.S. Customs and Border Protection is collecting 10% tariffs now. The President has said he wants to bump that up to 15%, which is the maximum under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Exceptions apply, including critical minerals, natural resources and fertilizers, some agricultural imports, certain electronics and vehicles, USMCA-compliant imports from Canada and Mexico, and textiles and apparel articles under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement.
“We’ve allowed other countries to take advantage of this, where our workers don’t get to sell their products or services into another country, but they get to come in here and sell all their products,” Scott said.
The Senator went on to say “we’ve got to figure out how we American workers can compete globally.”
And Scott has made that case to other countries’ leaders.
“When I travel around the world, I tell the governments, I said, ‘Reduce your trade barriers, and you won’t have a problem with the United States. Do your own defense, you won’t have a problem in the United States.’ So the big thing is, we’ve got to make sure we get American jobs back by opening up the markets.”
