COLUMBUS, OH — Governor John Kasich has been a frequent and vocal critic of President Donald Trump since the latter took office. The erstwhile primary rivals never patched things up post-election and Kasich has been happy to blast many of his old opponent’s decisions. Most recently, he has targeted what he sees as a burgeoning trade war, which could damage Ohio’s economy.
“If Ohio were a country, our $649bn economy would make us the 21st largest in the world. We proudly sell worldwide — including almost $4bn annually to China and more than $18bn to Canada,” Kasich writes in a recent column for the Financial Times.
Click Here: camisetas de futbol baratas
Possible tariffs from China, Canada and Mexico could have deleterious effect on the Buckeye State’s economy, though, Kasich said. “Canada and Mexico’s tariffs alone would affect $3.3bn of Ohio’s exports, including steel, washing machines and even soap,” he notes.
While Kasich’s critique follows similar statements from some Ohio industry leaders — there are surprising supporters of tariffs against foreign markets. U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat from Toledo, for one has voiced her willingness to back Trump on steel tariffs.
In March, when word of steel tariffs was first heard, Kaptur released a statement of support, saying, “In a nation like China, its government directed steel industry is creating vast global overcapacity. America’s steel and aluminum manufacturing cannot fall victim to unfair foreign trade regimes — by China, Russia, Vietnam or any other nation.”
She has also been a frequent opponent of what she views as steel dumping — when foreign competitors put a mass amount of intentionally cheap product on the market to hurt American companies. Tariffs may protect Ohio’s steelworkers from such a tactic, in her view.
Still, Ohio agriculture has already begun to see what the squeeze of international tariffs could do to business — and they think tariffs could hurt more than just farmers. “When we start doing things that could disrupt our markets, we’re hurting people in the transportation industry, we’re hurting people in finance, marketing, the dockworkers that load ships in Cleveland. It’s more than just the family farmer,” Joe Cornerly, the senior communications official for the Ohio Farm Bureau told Patch in April.
In his column, Kasich attempts to straddle the line of critiquing the president and understanding the plight of Ohio’s steelworkers. He notes that fixes are needed for many trade deals and partnerships, but does not believe destroying relationships with other nations is the best way to move forward.
“The White House mindset — that surgery always requires killing the patient first — leaves us with fewer partners to protect democracy’s essential freedoms against the likes of Russia and China. Unless the aim is a wholesale realignment toward them, a quick about-face is required, but the clock is ticking,” Kasich says at the end of his column.
(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)
Photo from John Kasich’s Office