Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has voiced strong support for former President Donald Trump’s newly announced trade policy, which includes sweeping tariffs aimed at addressing what Trump describes as an “economic emergency”.
On Thursday, Trump unveiled a broad proposal that would impose elevated tariffs on dozens of countries with significant trade surpluses with the United States.
The plan includes a blanket 10 percent tax on all imports, as well as targeted increases such as a 34 percent tariff on Chinese goods and a 20 percent tariff on imports from the European Union, according to the Associated Press.
While Trump has described the tariffs as both a tool for generating revenue and a means of restructuring global trade dynamics, some uncertainty remains around the administration’s precise objectives.
Conflicting statements from Trump and his advisors have added to the ambiguity, AP reports.
Despite the lack of clarity, Hawley has praised the policy shift, describing it as a long-overdue corrective measure that will benefit Missouri workers—particularly in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors.
“I’ll just tell you this: auto workers right there in the St. Louis region are cheering Trump’s tariffs because we have been losing auto jobs to Mexico for years,” Hawley said in a virtual interview with FOX 2.
“We have been losing wages and losing ground when it comes to our wages for years to other countries, so when it comes to folks who are now being protected, they finally have their government standing up for them after years of selling them out. You’ve got a lot of people who are very happy.”
Hawley added that he hopes the administration continues its push for what he called a “fair deal” on international trade.
“What I want to see is more jobs in the state of Missouri. I want to see higher wages in the state of Missouri, and I want to see the industry that we have in the state be protected,” he said.
“Of course we want to trade, but it’s got to be a fair deal for our manufacturers, for our farmers, for our producers—and that’s what the president’s fighting for.”
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