During an interview aired on Thursday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) stated that there will be problems for manufacturers that import products no longer made in the U.S. under the Trump tariffs because “it’s going to take a long time to onshore some of those products. So, we’ll certainly be talking to the president as this thing continues to drag out in terms of exemptions to make sure that businesses can survive.”
Co-host Amna Nawaz asked, “[W]hen you say the pain level, who’s going to feel that? What industries and sectors are you most worried about in your home state?”
Johnson answered, “Well, again, manufacturers that export, manufacturers that import products that aren’t, for example, made in America anymore, it’s going to take a long time to onshore some of those products. So, we’ll certainly be talking to the president as this thing continues to drag out in terms of exemptions to make sure that businesses can survive.”
Nawaz followed up, “And if there aren’t exemptions…for the companies that are going to have to bear some short-term pain, would you suggest that the government come up with some kind of subsidies or something to help mitigate some of that in the short term?”
Johnson responded, “Subsidies are very difficult to design, to really allocate fairly. I know President Trump, there will be revenue brought in. He certainly allocated that amongst farmers in the first round of increasing tariffs in his first administration. So, my guess is that might be one of the solutions they might have for some of the dislocations and some of the pain.”
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