“We may have a little bit of short-term pain, but we are certainly going to have long-term success,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.

Wednesday morning after the U.S. and China released lists of products that could be subject to steep tariffs, ADVERTISEMENT Major U.S. stock indexes fell sharplymorning after the U.S. and China released lists of products that could be subject to steep tariffs, but eventually erased those losses

The president and his allies have framed the proposed tariffs as a fulfillment of Trump's campaign promise to protect U.S. industries from being undercut by Chinese trade practices.

But many Republicans worry tariffs could erase economic gains made in the aftermath of the tax-cut law and could hurt the GOP with voters in the November midterm elections.