Some Republican members of Congress are warning that the trade war with China could end badly — but they pale in number to their colleagues, who say they envision an outcome where the Trump administration’s tariffs result in lucrative deals for the U.S.
On Thursday, the outsize effects that the tariffs on China could have on American consumers were sinking in and sent the stock market dropping. But in Congress, the mood was decidedly different as Republican members told NOTUS prior to leaving for a two-week recess that the threat of even more trade tension with China isn’t going to shatter their joy.
“We’re gonna win,” Rep. Burgess Owens told NOTUS about the trade war. “[Prices] might temporarily go up. But just keep in mind, we have trillions of dollars coming back to our country from manufacturers who’ve been working in China to this point. So they’re gonna be hurt over the long term because countries are coming to America instead of China.”
President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the administration would increase its tariffs on many Chinese imports to 125%, bringing the total amount to 145% because of an initial 20% levy against China for the country’s role in fentanyl production. That announcement was overshadowed by markets bouncing back after the president put a 90-day pause on most of his other tariffs, which Republicans were enthusiastic over.
Trending
Several lawmakers brought up the tradeoff — short-term pain for long-term wins domestically.
Alabama Rep. Robert Aderholt told NOTUS that he is still confident in the president’s strategy, even though prices for consumers may go up in the short term. He added that “most people realize that we just don’t need to depend on China for everything.”
“I have never been one that has supported just a free hand for China to do whatever they want,” Aderholt said. “I think we’ve entered in some bad deals with them in the past. So I welcome a reset. And I think the only thing that they’re going to listen to is if the president stands up and stays strong.”
Other lawmakers were not as eager to talk about what the United States’ future with China could or should look like. Asked if he sees an end to the trade war, a seemingly frustrated Sen. Jerry Moran told NOTUS, “I don’t have an answer to that” and “I can’t foresee the future.”
The 145% tariff — which came after Trump initially hiked tariffs against China to 84% last week in response to retaliatory tariffs from China — could drive up prices for several of the United States’ top imports from China, like electronics, textiles, furniture and paint.
Several Republican lawmakers like Rep. Chris Smith, painted the escalation as a “one-sided” trade war that’s been going on for years, placing sole blame on China and touting the president’s tariff hike as a beneficial human rights and geopolitical move.
“I’m very glad that the president is doing what he’s doing. I wish that Bush had done it. I wish that Obama had done it. I wish that Biden had done it. And all of them, in my humble opinion, failed miserably,” Smith said. “They just accommodated a dictatorship that got worse and worse. So he’s finally saying, ‘that’s it.’ We want free trade, but it has to be fair.”
Smith, one of the House’s biggest China hawks, targeted trade relations with the country even before tariffs were a possibility by attempting to roll back China’s trade status via legislation, pointing to the country’s human rights violations, including targeting the Uyghur ethnic minority.
Republicans opposed to the tariffs aren’t optimistic about what it will mean for the U.S.
“It’s out of our hands,” Rep. Thomas Massie said when NOTUS asked if he sees any path to the end of trade war escalation with China.
Massie then criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson, who led Republicans in adopting language during a procedural vote this week that prevents members from forcing a vote to rein in Trump’s tariffs through Sept. 30.
And Sen. Rand Paul, who has also taken a public stance against tariffs, told NOTUS that the war would end “badly” and suggested trading to build “friendly relations.”
A new wave of the trade war could especially backfire for agricultural states, with grains, soybeans and other farm products making up one of the largest shares of U.S. exports to China along with chemical and mineral products. Texas, Louisiana and California are among states that are top exporters to China.
Even under the threat of higher prices and economic instability, some lawmakers defended the president’s decision to pursue more China tariffs but told NOTUS that they hope not to see China as a permanent enemy.
“I think obviously it’s escalating,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said. “The president even said at some point we’re probably going to sit down with the Chinese and figure this out. But it’s got to be fair. They’re dumping their stuff in our country, and it’s disadvantaging our workers.”
Sen. James Lankford told NOTUS that he expects the standoff to end with “open fair trade” between the countries but acknowledged that it would take some time for China to fix its trade infrastructure in a way that the U.S. approves. However, he’s hopeful that it “can be done fast.”
“I don’t want China as a trade enemy forever,” Lankford said. “I don’t mind doing business with one of the largest economies in the world. But they’ve got [to do] some things to be able to fix infrastructure.”
—
Torrence Banks and Shifra Dayak are NOTUS reporters and Allbritton Journalism Institute fellows.
Authors
