GREG JOHNSON

Steel tariffs could backfire on Lynchburg

Greg Johnson
Columnist

The talk turned in the pilgrim house in Radicofani, a small village in Tuscany that, behind its medieval walls on a mountaintop, commands an amazing view of the Italian countryside. Hardly any of the guests spoke English and, with my Italian so very limited, I was a conversational bystander.

Greg Johnson, News Sentinel columnist

In the lull during our late lunch, one man pieced together enough English to ask me where I was from. “America,” I said. “Tennessee.” He broke into a big grin. “Ah, Tennessee!” he said. “Appalakia!” He had heard of the Appalachian Trail. His grin grew.

“Jack Daniel’s!” he said, bonding over perhaps Tennessee’s best-known global brand.

In England, Scotland, Spain, pretty much wherever your wandering scribe has trod abroad, Tennessee sipping whiskey in the square-cornered bottle with a black label has been known. And consumed. In fact, Jack Daniel’s last year sold more than 15 million cases of whiskey in 160 countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, Germany and France. 

But Tennessee’s best-known global brand could be watered down in Germany and France if the Trump administration decides to follow through on threats to slap tariffs on steel imports from the European Union. Using a ruse of “national security,” President Donald J. Trump can raise the cost of imported steel without congressional approval.

The E.U. is not naïve, preparing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products, including whiskey. The E.U. is locked and loaded, ready to launch in a matter of days should Trump strike first. “I’m telling you this in the hope that all of this won’t be necessary,” said E.U. President Jean-Claude Juncker. “But we are in an elevated battle mood.” 

Trumpeteers will likely love that language, welcoming a fracas with those continental weenies. Steel workers will be tempted to encourage the guy who punched out the CNN icon to go after steel dumpers. But down in little Lynchburg, Tennessee, regular folk who make smooth liquor will feel the effects of Trump swaggering into a fight over trade.

Potential U.S. action is global in nature, designed to back up Trump rants about our trade deficit, and aims at curbing countries – especially China – from dumping discount steel in America and hurting steel workers. But the ripple effect could be broad, with the E.U. prepared to hit back on agricultural products like orange juice, potatoes and tomatoes, which, in turn, would hurt U.S. farmers and farm workers.

Trump’s inclination toward protectionism, sold under the guise of making America great again, plays well to his base. His bellicosity and belligerence worked well in his Manhattan real estate career. But on the global stage, his bluster and bluff will have far-reaching negative implications here at home, hurting American companies and workers. To twist a phrase, it is a global economy, stupid.

From tiny Radicofani in Tuscany, to little Lynchburg, Tennessee, the world would feel the effects of Trump’s trade stupidity.

Greg Johnson’s column appears on Fridays. Follow him on Twitter @jgregjohnson. Visit his Greg Johnson Opinions Page on Facebook. Email him at jgregjohnson@hotmail.com.