Ingraham vs. Krauthammer: "Protectionism" Gets Thrown Around Anytime Someone Stands Up For The American Worker

Laura Ingraham and Charles Krauthammer argue about the use of the term 'protectionism' on Tuesday's broadcast of Special Report on the FOX News Channel.



Krauthammer on "the problem" of protectionism in regards to a brewing U.S.-Canada trade war involving dairy and lumber:





CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: That is the problem with protectionism. For example, if we were to prevail upon the Chinese to stop dumping steel, or we would raise tariffs on steel, this has happened in the past. That's great for steelworkers but it's not so good if you are making autos or other stuff out of steel. The costs are passed on and they become less competitive. So, Juan is right. If you put a tariff on the lumber, you're going to get a problem with homes, homes are going to be a little more expensive.



I think after having insulted Australia, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, and just about every one of our friends, it is about time we hit Canada. And I still haven't gotten over the War of 1812, so I have a personal animus here.



Look, I think this is Trump proclaiming a principle that we are going to be really tough on trade because the tariffs on our dairy products are something like 2- to 300-percent. It's really outrageous. And what he's doing, he is bargaining. He's a real estate guy saying, 'Here is my opening bid. I threaten you with tariffs on lumber. You show us some give on dairy.'



I think it will likely get this done. I can't imagine that we are going to start this administration with a trade war with Canada. I could understand China, I could understand -- but, look, people this is our closest ally in the world, and in a way, it is gratuitous.

LAURA INGRAHAM: The word protectionism is always thrown around for anyone who stands up for American workers and American companies.



KRAUTHAMMER: But you stand up for some workers, not all workers.



INGRAHAM: Well, no. What I think Donald Trump campaigned on, and what I assume he will do, is issues on like cold rolled steel. Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, most presidents invoked some type of temporary tariff to make the marketplace efficient. It is wildly distorted now. We had a 20% increase in the dumping of cheap steel in the United States. In the first 3 months of this year from the previous year, we had I think 18 out of the top 20 steel manufacturers in the world were American. Now, I think it is about three. So there are ancillary effects. We tried globalization and let it all ride on the WTO, and we got Donald Trump as the president. So we tried 20 years of this, we tried it.



KRAUTHAMMER: The ancillary effects are in every industry downstream that uses the product. It's a law of nature, it's a law of economics if you raise the price, you are going to hurt the people--



INGRAHAM: We also have American workers who have jobs and families who have a livelihood. And the beauty parlor and the shopping center and all the people who can spend money instead of being on government welfare. Or opioids.



KRAUTHAMMER: And people in construction are going to lose those jobs if the price of lumber rises. That's very simple. Not complicated.

Ingraham on the term getting thrown around: