Golden statement on President Trump’s tariffs announcements

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) released the following statement today after President Donald Trump’s announcement of a series of new tariff policies during a news conference in the White House Rose Garden:

"President Trump has introduced a number of new tariff policies, and I and my team are already digging into the details. I’ll have more to say on the specifics in the next few days.

“What I can say now is I’m pleased the president is building his tariff agenda on the foundation of a universal 10 percent tariff like the one I proposed in the BUILT USA Act. This ring fence around the American economy is a good start to erasing our unsustainable trade deficits.

“I’m eager to work with the president to fix the broken ‘free trade’ system that made multinational corporations rich but ruined manufacturing communities across the country. But tariffs must be paired with policies that prioritize American families’ prosperity. We need to make sure that the new approach benefits working people — that means supporting unions, the trades and apprenticeship programs, cutting regulations that hold back production, unleashing American energy and using tariff revenue to support domestic manufacturers that create good-paying jobs for Americans.

“It’s also time to renegotiate trade deals like the USMCA to support the Americans who are ready to ramp up production and support the rebuilding of our middle class — like the sawmills, processing plants, fishermen and farmers in the communities I represent.

“Tariffs are a first step in rewriting a rigged trade system, but they cannot be the last one.”

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