Pat Toomey: Canada’s Tariffs on American Products in Reaction to Trump’s Tariffs Will Be ‘Harmful’ to Pennsylvania

RENNAN: I want to ask you about something you have been very vocal about lately, and this is your concerns, your criticism of the president's trade policies.

Today, starting today, Canada is putting tariffs on a number of American-made products, including chocolate, ketchup, other items. How much is this going to cost your home state?

TOOMEY: Right.

Well, it's going to be harmful to my home state. So far, this trade war, if it is that -- and it seems to be heading that way -- has been of a modest scale. It hasn't done great damage yet. But it has the potential to do that.

And it would be an unbelievable pity to disrupt what is really a fantastic economy. Because of tax reform, because of regulatory relief, we have got strong economic growth, tremendous employment prospects.

So I don't want to see a trade war undo that, undo that, and limit the ability of Pennsylvanians and Americans generally to buy and sell goods and services with our neighbors and allies, which is, after all, who this is targeting.

BRENNAN: But you have tried and now failed twice to take back in Congress some control over the president's ability to put these tariffs in place citing national security grounds.

So, would you withhold your vote to confirm a Supreme Court nominee in order to get the kind of vote you're asking for on tariffs?

TOOMEY: No, that won't be necessary.

I do want to have a vote to restore to Congress its constitutional responsibility to have the final say on the imposition of tariffs, especially when it's national security that is invoked as the rationale.

But there is uniform, I believe, uniform Republican Senate support for us allowing that debate, allowing that vote. Not all of my Republican colleagues agree with me on the substance. But there was no Republican objecting when Senator Corker and I sought to have an amendment, sought to have that vote.

It was a Democratic colleague reflecting concerns on the Democratic side. Their position is, we shouldn't even be able to debate this, we shouldn't be able to vote. But here's the...

BRENNAN: Has Republican leadership given you a date?

TOOMEY: That -- we will have multiple options, Margaret, where there is no procedural opportunity for the minority party to block the vote.

We will have this vote. And Senator McConnell and my Republican colleagues are not going to attempt to block the ability to have that vote. And we will see where the votes are. We don't know that yet. But I think we should find out.

BRENNAN: The president did seem to back down a bit on these investment restrictions that had been floated for China. Do you see him backing down on the question of tariffs?

TOOMEY: So, here is my hope.

My hope is that we can persuade the president to focus on the real problem on the trade front. The problem is not Canada. The problem is not Mexico.

I mean, with Canada, we have a trade surplus. We have a surplus even in steel. So, why we should punish my constituents with a tax when they import these small amounts of Canadian steel makes no sense.

The real problem is the really bad behavior of China, specifically the theft of intellectual property, coerced technology transfers. What we ought to be doing is make peace with our allies with whom we trade to our mutual benefit and join forces and deal with the real problem. And China poses a real problem.

I think the president knows that that is a real problem. And so my hope is that we can persuade him to focus there.