MONEY TALKS

Koch Brothers Unveil Campaign Opposing Trump Tariffs

Their political network will spend millions on “media buys, activist education, [and] grassroots mobilization.”

The Koch brothers’ political network announced a multimillion-dollar campaign “opposing the tariffs” President Donald Trump has imposed on countries like China, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, according to CNBC. The network reports that Trump slapping tariffs on American allies was the “tipping point” for Charles and David Koch, and they have since unveiled their “pro-free trade campaign,” which includes “media buys, activist education, grassroots mobilization, lobbying and policy analysis.” “Tariffs and other trade barriers make us poorer,” James Davis, executive vice president for the network group Freedom Partners, told CNBC. “They raise prices for those who can least afford it.” Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips echoed Davis’ statement, and said that there are “better ways to negotiate trade deals than by punishing American consumers and businesses with higher costs.” This comes after Canadian president Justin Trudeau called the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed on the country’s goods “insulting and unacceptable.”