Indiana’s junior senator is talking directly with President Donald Trump about his tariff and trade policies, advocating that federal officials craft a written, coherent trade strategy rather than embarking on a trade war.
Sen. Todd Young was the featured speaker at a Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Third House session at the Columbus Upland Pump House Wednesday, addressing a group of chamber members and taking written questions from the floor about recent issues including Trump’s trade policies.
Photo by Julie McClure
Young, who normally has the entire month of August to meet with Indiana constituents, is ramping up his schedule to fit everything into a shorter two-week window, when he will return to Washington D.C.
Young said he had talked with Trump on Air Force One just last Monday about the need for a comprehensive federal strategy on trade and tariffs.
The question about the Trump administration’s trade policies came fairly early, with the anonymous question writer pointing out that a third of Bartholomew County’s workforce is employed in manufacturing, an area that may be severely impacted by the Trump trade policies.
Young responded that he had read the guest column written in late July by Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger, in which Linebarger warned that the trade tariffs impact and increased cost of materials could be a $200 million hit to Cummins, with employment implications for the company. Linebarger argued in his column that open and transparent negotiations with the Chinese government are needed rather than unilateral and escalating tariffs.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
