When it comes to tariffs, Democrat Sean Casten has harsh wards for Republican Rep. Peter Roskam – and President Donald Trump.

“The tariffs are unbelievably economically stupid, which is about the most polite way I can describe them,” said Casten, a scientist and businessman running against Roskam for his 6th Congressional District seat, which includes much of northeastern Illinois.

The Trump administration hit Mexico, Canada and the European Union with controversial tariffs on steel and aluminum this spring. The tariffs – 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum – went into effect this month.

Trump, who imposed the tariffs in March, said a reliance on imported metals threatens national security. At the time, Trump exempted Canada, Mexico and the European Union to buy time for negotiations, and that reprieve expired this month. The administration’s actions have drawn fire from allies who promise to retaliate quickly against U.S. exports, The Associated Press reported.

“The idea that economically we’re going to create jobs in the U.S. by putting a tariff on imported steel is just dumb. Period. The only thing it’s going to do is raise the price of steel and aluminum,” Casten said. “What’s practically going to happen – you are raising the costs of goods for downstream manufacturers in the United States and making those producers in the United States less competitive on the global stage. What Trump is doing is going to destroy jobs in the U.S. It’s not hard to figure out that Trump doesn’t know what he’s doing on the global stage.”

On Monday, Roskam told the Northwest Herald that he’s deeply concerned about Trump’s decision to impose steep tariffs on U.S. allies.

“This is a very serious thing, and the Trump administration is making a mistake in my view,” Roskam said, adding that he’ll continue to be a vocal critic on the matter because the move threatens local businesses, employees and American consumers.

Casten isn’t buying it.

“It’s frankly rather shocking that it’s taken a year and a half for Roskam to come around and admit to that,” Casten said. “He’s scared of losing this election. I’m serious. He’s voted 95 percent with Trump in a district that hates Trump. He is working hard to try and present himself as somebody who understands business, creates jobs and knows how the economy works because he knows that’s what his competitor does. Good luck.”

Roskam votes with Trump 94.1 percent of the time, according to Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight blog.