Wall Street Journal Board Blasts Republicans for Backing Trump’s Tariffs While Quietly Seeking Exemptions
Key Takeaways
- •Katie Britt publicly said Trump’s tariffs were effective while her office had privately pursued exemptions months earlier.
- •A Freedom of Information Act request produced a redacted email seeking assistance for four Alabama business interests affected by tariffs.
- •The companies cited were TNT Fireworks, Novelis, Kronospan and Airbus, with Airbus saying trade policy made a planned assembly line financially unviable.
- •The editorial board argued that tariff exemptions favor companies able to enlist influential lawmakers and questioned who represents smaller businesses facing similar costs.
- •The board also cited earlier Republican requests for tariff carveouts involving saw blades, furniture wood and patio screens.
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board took several Republican lawmakers to task in a piece published on Tuesday, accusing them of “hypocrisy” for publicly backing what it called President Donald Trump’s “economic mistake” tariffs while quietly pleading for exceptions. The editorial singled out Alabama Sen. Katie Britt.
The board is typically known for commentary with a heavily conservative slant, often in support of Trump’s various pursuits. It has shown little patience, however, for his tariff plans, publishing numerous takedowns describing the import taxes as harmful and haphazardly implemented. As Trump has continued to cling to the tariffs, the board has kept up its attacks, with its latest piece focusing on Britt’s handling of the issue.
In February, in an apparent bid to remain in the president’s good graces, Britt released a statement declaring, “What the media won’t tell you is that President Trump’s tariffs work.” The statement came after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s justification for his wide-ranging tariff scheme, even as the senator had been making “pleas behind closed doors for exemptions.”
“What Ms. Britt won’t tell you is that she was privately seeking exemptions 10 months earlier,” the board wrote. “That’s when her legislative director wrote an email, ‘Sen. Britt Alabama Trade Priorities,’ seeking help for ‘specific Alabama manufacturers.’” The board said it obtained the email from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office through the Freedom of Information Act and published the redacted document. The message begins by noting that Britt “is supportive” of rebalancing trade before turning to “four pressing issues,” each a plea on behalf of an Alabama company.
The companies named included TNT Fireworks, which stood to be harmed because of “over 99 percent of firework products [being] produced in China.” Aluminum producer Novelis and wood panel maker Kronospan would have faced similar damage from their reliance on imports, while Airbus had halted plans for a new assembly line, citing “trade policy [making] the project financially unviable.”
“The point isn’t that Ms. Britt made bad arguments against these four tariffs,” the board explained. “It’s that she made good ones, which show why blunderbuss trade wars are an economic mistake, along with how tariffs deepen the D.C. swamp” — a theme it examined in an earlier editorial. “Big company CEOs facing tariff harm know how to get a U.S. Senator to plead their case,” it added. “But who speaks for the little guy being walloped?”
It closed with a broader jab at the party: “Tariffs for thee, exemptions for me. Join the GOP club: In Mr. Trump’s first term, Sen. Josh Hawley lobbied for a carveout on saw blades, Rep. Mark Meadows on furniture wood, Rep. Andy Biggs on patio screens. Who else? When more records arrive, we’ll let you know.”
This article originally appeared on Alternet.
