Commentary: Big Tent Ideas

HOGAN GIDLEY: Trump’s National Security Tariffs Help America Win

Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons

In his recent address to the nation, President Donald Trump rightfully declared, “our enemies are losing and America is winning, and now winning bigger than ever before.”

Simultaneously, our great nation is winning economically – and the rapid turnaround started during Trump’s first year back in office. The implementation of his national security tariffs helped strengthen our economy by saving critical domestic industries and gave America resilience against global supply chain shocks. As the midterms approach, millions of men and women across our nation know Trump will fight to continue rebuilding our economy and saving our country.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden were “responsible for loading up airplanes with 1.8 Billion in cash and sending it to Iran as part of the horrific Iran nuclear deal’’ – undoubtedly funding terrorism. Trump has already corrected many of these failures of the past, and he’s seeking to correct more. Sadly, Obama and Biden also shipped millions of American manufacturing jobs overseas creating an over-reliance on imports that directly affects our military capabilities.

Operation Epic Fury only highlights the strategic importance of rebuilding a strong domestic industrial base here at home. Materials like aluminum are essential to U.S. military readiness, forming the skin of F-15 fighter jets, armored vehicles, body armor and military hardware used by our warfighters. A key lesson from the current military operation is that we must redouble efforts to strengthen domestic supply chains for critical materials, which will reduce our dependence on the Middle East and foreign countries.

During my time as White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, I traveled with Trump to many once-great manufacturing communities across America’s heartland that decades of foreign countries cheating us on trade had hollowed out. As a billionaire businessman, Trump has long recognized that robust domestic manufacturing, particularly the production of steel and aluminum, is essential to America’s national and economic security.

You can see his advocacy for this issue from his countless interviews dating back to the early 80’s. He saw the American worker sold out decades ago by Democrats in Congress when they pushed through the job-killing, American-worker-hurting North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trump took decisive action in his first term to protect American workers and American businesses when he railed against the “worst trade deal ever made”and replaced it with the America first U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). Now, he’s going even further by holding the liberals in Canada and Mexico accountable for cheating under the USMCA.

The midterm election – like all elections – will be about the economy, and the President’s historic trade deals along with supply chain security will be critical to America’s overall economic stability, which results in strong voter confidence. This kind of strong, decisive, determined leadership matters now more than ever as Congressional Republicans head toward November.

For my 25 years working political campaigns, every single politician passionately advocates for “free and fair trade.” Free trade always arrives, but fair trade never follows…until President Trump.

Biden re-opened the floodgates to foreign countries through wild tariff exemptions and failed to enforce vital USMCA guardrails. Under Biden’s weak leadership, three U.S. aluminum smelters permanently shut down, and more than 1,700 American aluminum workers lost their jobs in Missouri, Kentucky, and Washington. Those closures decimated local communities that depended on these facilities.

By contrast, in just one year since Trump’s Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel, American manufacturing is seeing renewed momentum: a multi-billion dollar investment in America with the first new U.S. aluminum smelter in 50 years is being built by Emirates Global Aluminum and Century Aluminum that will create 5,000 new American jobs.

In my home state of South Carolina, U.S. aluminum production is increasing by 25% at the Mt. Holly aluminum plant resulting in hundreds of new, good-paying, family-sustaining jobs being created that pay on average $125,000 per employee. Novelis is strengthening the U.S. aluminum supply chain by opening their new $5 billion aluminum rolling plant in Alabama. This revival is exactly what Trump’s America First trade policy is designed to deliver, and exactly what American midterm voters want to see.

Globalists and/or “quasi domestic” producers have long suffered from Trump Derangement Syndrome and oppose efforts to reshore American manufacturing jobs. While it takes time to reshore production, weakening tariff enforcement in response to demands by Canada for preferential treatment in the USMCA renegotiations would only chill domestic investment and send a dangerous signal to voters that Washington is once again caving to America Last special interest groups.

If Republicans want to keep winning in the midterms and beyond, the path to victory is simple: stay the course during USMCA renegotiations and keep our President’s national security tariffs strong. Let’s continue to stand with President Trump and join him in his continued fight for the forgotten men and women of America.

Hogan Gidley served as Principal Deputy White House Press Secretary and later as Press Secretary for President Trump’s reelection campaign. Mr. Gidley currently serves as Vice Chair at the America First Policy Institute.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

(Featured Image Media Credit: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)