Ohio Senator Rob Portman gave his thoughts Tuesday on the rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Portman said he supports being tough on China, citing reports of intellectual property theft, government subsidies and trade imbalances, but he does have some reservations.
“Where I have concerns is that the escalation of tariffs without an agreement, you know will hurt our economy, and jobs, and wages, and everything else, but I think we need to try to use tariffs just as a tactic to get to an agreement, and not as an endgame.”
Portman urged caution when raising tariffs, but he hoped that continued pressure on China will produce a sensible agreement. Portman said the reduction or elimination of tariffs should be the ultimate solution.
