Political Quotes

“I rise to sound the alarm about the President's decision to impose steep tariffs on our trading partners. Make no mistake, we are not, as some administration officials have suggested, in the leisurely early innings of a baseball game. We are in the nascent stages of a full-scale trade war. Despite the President's statement that this war will be easily won, any student of history knows that unlike a baseball game, in which a winner is guaranteed, a trade war only guarantees there will be losers. Free trade allows the most efficient allocation of labor and capital. Protectionism, on the other hand, stifles innovation and reduces productivity. Recognition of this philosophy has been as close to a consensus as this body has achieved in more than 70 years, and the application of these principles has provided the foundation for growth and prosperity that was unimagined by previous generations. If tariffs aimed at our adversaries produce disastrous results, what will happen when we target our allies? Imagine claiming that imports from Canada represent a national security threat. Well, that is exactly what we are doing. Canada is our largest trading partner--a trading partner, coincidentally, with whom we enjoy a trade surplus. Just yesterday, we learned of a phone call in which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau challenged the President's use of national security as a justification for levying tariffs against a steadfast ally.…”