President Donald Trump may have ordered tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, including lifting waivers that had been granted for Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, but he eventually wants to get the world to a place where there are no tariffs at all, White House Legislative Director Marc Short said Monday.
"The president is very focused on making sure that we continue to grow our economy," Short told CNBC's "Squawk Box."
"The reality is that right now for America, on products coming in, the average is a 2.4 percent tariff, yet it's more than double that on products we're sending overseas. The president is trying to level the playing field."
With that in mind, the new tariffs are part of an effort, said Short, "to get us to hopefully be one day where we have true free and fair trade. That is the ultimate goal."
Until that happens, and the United States can get the level playing field, Trump is "going to do what he wants to do to make sure that the manufacturing jobs in America are protected," said Short.
Trump in March announced 25 percent import tariffs for steel and 10 percent for aluminum, but provided relief to certain allies. Those waivers lapsed last week, and Trump's decision to enact them on U.S. allies has drawn outcry from several places, including from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron, and even Republican lawmakers such as House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Short said Trump's actions should not have come as a surprise, as he had campaigned on them.
"I'm a little bit surprised that often in the media there is this surprise about the president's trade agenda," said Short. "This is what he campaigned on. It's what the American people elected him [on.]"
He added that the global marketplace is also "not fair at the current moment" for American companies trying to sell products overseas.
"The reality is that American companies are facing enormous tariffs on the things they're trying to export," Short said. "The markets are not free for them where they're trying to sell their goods overseas and I think the president wants to make sure that the American worker has a level playing field."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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