Sen. Jeff Flake said Thursday he will draft legislation to nullify President Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, calling them "a marriage of two lethal poisons to economic growth — protectionism and uncertainty."
Flake, the Arizona Republican who has opposed many of Trump's policies and is retiring at the end of this year, took to Twitter:
President Trump signed proclamations Thursday imposing duties of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum that will take effect in 15 days.
The tariffs will not initially apply to Canada and Mexico, the president said, adding security and trade partners could negotiate to seek exemptions.
Republicans were among those opposing the duties, joining economists and other nations in warning that they could start a global trade war.
The European Union has threatened to slap similar tariffs on American products.
"We'll show great flexibility," Trump told a gathering in the Roosevelt Room at the White House.
"Many of the countries that treat us the worst on trade and on military are our allies.
"We just want fairness," he added. "We just want fairness.
"We want everything to be reciprocal.
"In the end, we're going to have a lot of great jobs, going to have a lot of great companies, all coming back to our country."