WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Republican Senator Ben Sasse, R-Neb., was highly critical of President Donald Trump's escalating trade dispute with China in a statement on Thursday, claiming the president does not have a plan to win a trade war between the world's two largest economies.
Sasse said he was hopeful Trump was just blowing off steam when he threatened to impose $100 billion of additional tariffs on Chinese imports.
'If he's even half-serious, this is nuts,' Sasse said. 'China is guilty of many things, but the President has no actual plan to win right now. He's threatening to light American agriculture on fire.'
'Let's absolutely take on Chinese bad behavior, but with a plan that punishes them instead of us,' he added. 'This is the dumbest possible way to do this.'
Sasse has been a frequent critic of Trump but is not the only Republican Senator from an agriculture-dependent state to raise concerns about China's retaliatory tariffs on products such as soybeans.
In a statement on Wednesday, Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the U.S. should take action to defend its interests but argued farmers and ranchers shouldn't be expected to bear the brunt of retaliation for the entire country.
'The Administration knew that if it imposed tariffs on Chinese goods, China would retaliate against U.S. agriculture,' Grassley said. 'I warned President Trump as much in a White House meeting in February. Today shows that's exactly what happened.'
He added, 'If the federal government takes action on trade that directly results in economic hardship for certain Americans, it has a responsibility to help those Americans and mitigate the damage it caused.'
Senators Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Deb Fischer, R-Neb., have also expressed concerns about the impact China's retaliatory tariffs could have on U.S. agriculture.
(Photo: Gage Skidmore)
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