Republicans hold their breath as Trump ignites trade war with Canada, Mexico and China: ‘Tariffs are simply taxes’

 https://nypost.com/2025/02/02/us-news/republicans-hold-their-breath-as-trump-ignites-trade-war-with-canada-mexico-and-china-tariffs-are-simply-taxes/

Since at least the Reagan era, Republicans have generally been proponents of free trade, but that started to shift under Trump. Very few Republican pols want to cross Trump right now.

Perhaps his most vocal GOP critic on tariffs inside Congress is Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

“Tariffs are simply taxes,” Paul vented on X. “We won the last election by complaining about Democrats’ policies, which gave us high prices. Tariff lovers will be forced to explain the persistence of high prices.”