Republicans furious as Trump announces huge new tariffs: 'A massive tax increase on American families'

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

President Donald Trump

• President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Thursday.
• The decision set off a firestorm among Republicans.
• Sen. Ben Sasse called the move "a massive tax increase on American families."
• Conservative policy groups also came out against the decision.

Republicans and conservative groups were furious with President Donald Trump's Thursday announcement to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Trump said the US will impose a tariff, or tax on imports, of 25% for steel and 10% for aluminum. The move is designed to boost domestic production of US metals, but economists, lawmakers, and even many White House officials are worried it could lead to devastating consequences for the US economy.

In response, several Republicans painted Trump's announcement as a grave mistake.

"Let's be clear: The President is proposing a massive tax increase on American families," Sen. Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska, said in a statement. "Protectionism is weak, not strong. You'd expect a policy this bad from a leftist administration, not a supposedly Republican one."

Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a strong supporter of free-trade policies and a key figure in the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, also urged Trump to reconsider the move.

"Tariffs on steel and aluminum are a tax hike the American people don't need and can't afford," Hatch said in a statement. "I encourage the president to carefully consider all of the implications of raising the cost of steel and aluminum on American manufacturers and consumers."

Sen. John Cornyn, the second-highest ranking member of the Republican Senate leadership, told Business Insider that the president's tariffs are coming from a good place but could lead to negative outcomes such as a trade war.

"Obviously we don't want to be taken advantage of by our trading partners, but then there is always a danger of retaliation and creating trade wars," Cornyn said. "So it's a very delicate balance."

Cornyn also said that while senators knew the decision was "imminent," the final move was not expected today.

Sen. Pat Roberts, head of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told CNN that the decision will likely lead to retaliation against American farmers.

"Every time you do this, you get a retaliation," Roberts said. "And agriculture is the number one target. I think this is terribly counterproductive for the (agriculture) economy and I'm not very happy."

In addition to lawmakers, conservative action groups also joined the pile on. Adam Brandon, president of conservative action group FreedomWorks, said the decision could reverse economic gains from recently implemented GOP tax law.

"The Trump administration would mar its otherwise strong economic record by imposing these tariffs," Brandon said in a statement. "These could be a lethal blow to all the economic success this administration has ushered in. Higher costs to producers and distributors of goods always get passed on to us, the consumers."

Joe Perticone contributed reporting.