Haslam: Trump Steel Tariff Would Be 'Very Harmful'

NASHVILLE, TN -- Add Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam to the list of leaders worried about the impact of President Donald Trump's proposal for a new steel tariff.

Haslam, a Republican, said Tuesday at the state's annual prayer breakfast that he was "concerned" about the effect of the tariff on Tennessee's manufacturing industry, particularly automaking.

"The additional costs to a lot of the manufacturers we have, particularly the automobile industry, I think could be very harmful to us. Second, you worry about a lot of reciprocal-type tariffs coming back at us that would affect a lot of the different items that we export out of Tennessee," he said.

As a response to the steel tariff, the European Union already plans increased tariffs on American-made orange juice, cranberries, peanut butter and, notably for Tennessee, whiskey.

Sweden's Electrolux, the largest private employer in Robertson County, already announced it is "pausing" expansion plans for its Springfield plant in response to the tariff. The appliance manufacturer said in January it would invest $250 million, adding hundreds of thousands of square feet of factory space, but said those plans are on hold in the wake of the tariff announcement.

A number of other top Tennessee Republicans, including U.S. Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander and U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who is running to replace to Corker, have also expressed concern about the tariff.

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