President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement to impose tariffs on imports from Mexico, which sent financial markets reeling, has upset the usual order in Washington, D.C. Trump said late Thursday that the U.S. would impose escalating tariffs on its southern neighbor starting June 10, unless the country takes action to deter the flow of Central American migrants passing through its borders. The levies could hit 25% by October if Mexico fails to satisfy the White House’s demands.

Republican members of Congress from agricultural states were eager to have Congress take up the revised NAFTA agreement, now known as USMCA, but those hopes have been set back. There is real concern in some corners about the president’s use of tariffs for policy not related to trade. The president again used his philosophy of surprise and unpredictability which he views as a key to his success.

These may be useful for reality television ratings, but many questions if they are the right tools to form public policy. Investors, business executives, farmers, and consumers rely on a certain level of policy predictability and this is seriously harmed when the president takes such action.

When Congress returns next week on June 4 from an extended Memorial Day holiday, legislators’ first order of business is considering the $19 billion disaster relief bill that has been passed by the Senate but was blocked in the House when a handful of Republicans objected to its passage under “unanimous consent,” a parliamentary maneuver that would have avoided a roll call vote. The bill has overwhelming bipartisan support and President Trump has agreed to sign it even though it does not contain emergency border wall money he had requested.

The other piece of unfinished work is a budget agreement that would set spending levels for the new fiscal year that begins October 1, have a level that overcomes the sequestration cut required by the Budget Control Act of 2011, and deals with the debt ceiling. Without the latter, it could stop government borrowing at the end of the summer or early fall. Initial talks began before the break, and while some staff level discussions occurred, these issues need to be resolved.

Unfortunately, this necessary work might be hijacked by the remarks last week by the special prosecutor Robert Mueller about his recent report on the president, and by the president’s unilateral action Friday against Mexico imposing tariffs.

In the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is faced with growing calls for the beginning of impeachment proceedings after Mueller’s remarks with respect to his report. His provocative comments concerning the failure to declare the President innocent of obstruction added fuel to the fire for those seeking impeachment.

However, the Speaker and others know that there is not yet bipartisan support for impeachment, that the Senate with its Republican majority will not convict, and it takes away attention from the top Democratic priorities such as health care and the environment – issues that contributed to big wins for Democrats in 2018.

Trump Surprises DC with Mexican Tariff Threat
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