In the News

WILLIAMSBURG -- U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, took issue this week with the White House's approach to trade and foreign economic policy, particularly what he cast as inconsistencies between the president and his administration on such things.

Neal, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said while he agrees it's important to review trade and other policies, President Donald Trump's recent actions, particularly new tariffs on China and sanctions imposed on Iran, have undercut the United States' relationship with international partners.

The congressman criticized the White House's decision to "arbitrarily walk away" from the Iranian nuclear agreement, noting that he thought the Obama administration had taken the "right position" in supporting the deal. 

Offering that "there's an inconsistency between what the president says and what the professional staff around him has said," Neal argued that Iran now "seems to be headed toward our European allies to show them that they intend to live by the agreement even if the United States has moved away from it."

"I'm not sure that's good in a world that's going to depend on multilateral alliances," he said, following a Thursday event in Williamsburg. 

Neal further questioned the impact of new tariffs on China, arguing that the country's form of capitalism makes it more likely to absorb such losses than others.

The United States, for example, is already seeing aluminum import prices being added to costs of products, like cans, he contended.

Although Neal acknowledged that trade and tariffs can often present "real issues for the American people," he remained skeptical on whether they will impact voters in the 2018 mid-term elections -- particularly given the speed with which issues seem to move in today's media cycle.

"I think it's hard to adopt a national narrative given the impulsiveness of the president," he said. "There may be a series of events he intends to embrace that again could change the conversation, but, for me, it's an indication ... of the speed with which all of this happens."

The congressman's comments came just days after Trump signed an executive order to reimpose sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the Obama-era nuclear deal, which the U.S. struck with Iran, along with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China . 

The order followed Trump's May decision to withdraw from the 2015 agreement.

It reinstated sanctions, beginning Tuesday, on various things, including: the Iranian government's purchase or acquisition of U.S. bank notes; the country's trade in gold and other precious metals; graphite, aluminum, steel, coal and software used in industrial processes; transactions related to the Iranian rial; activities relating to Iran's issuance of sovereign debt; and the country's automotive sector. 

Beginning on Nov. 5, the U.S. will further reinstate sanctions on: Iran's port operators and energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors; petroleum-related transactions; and  foreign financial institutions transactions with the Central Bank of Iran, according to the White House.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, recently announced that the U.S. will impose a 25 percent additional tariff on another $16 billion worth of Chinese goods beginning Aug. 23 -- building on those that went into effect in July.

China, in turn, has reportedly announced that it would impose an equal tariff of 25 percent on $16 billion worth of American goods.