Ryan pushes back on Trump tariffs

WASHINGTON—House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Tuesday he’s advising President Donald Trump to rethink new tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum. Ryan told reporters he and House Ways and Means Committee chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, have had multiple conversations with the White House and the administration knows their concerns. Trump announced last week he would impose a 20 percent tax on imported steel and a 10 percent tax on aluminum imports. The president claims U.S. trading partners are abusing the system, hurting domestic steel and aluminum workers. “There is clearly abuse occurring,” Ryan said Tuesday. “We think the proper approach is a more surgical approach, so we do not have unintended consequences.” Trump has not released final details on his proposed tariffs but has vowed to implement them later this week. He has not said any countries will get exemptions from the tax. Industry leaders have criticized China for flooding U.S. markets with cheap steel and undercutting U.S. companies and other trading partners. Ryan told Republican House members Tuesday he’s advising the president to target the tariffs for certain countries and not penalize all U.S. trading partners. Ryan said through a spokesman Monday he’s worried about the negative consequences of starting a trade war. Trump told reporters Monday he has no intention of backing off the proposed tariffs.