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- GOP primary challengers Joe Walsh and Bill Weld slammed President Donald Trump's handling of the economy on Tuesday at Business Insider's debate, particularly his ongoing trade war with China.
- "Mr. Trump thinks that when he slaps a tariff on China, its paid by China back in Beijing. Its not, its paid for by American farmers or American businesses or individuals who need to import something from China that contains steel or aluminum and everyone knows it," Weld said.
- "The uncertainty, the hour-by-hour 'where is this president going?' has everybody in the business community on edge," Walsh said.
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GOP primary challengers former Rep. Joe Walsh and former Gov. Bill Weld slammed President Donald Trump's handling of the economy on Tuesday at Business Insider's debate, particularly his ongoing trade war with China.
"Mr. Trump thinks that when he slaps a tariff on China, its paid by China back in Beijing. Its not, its paid for by American farmers or American businesses or individuals who need to import something from China that contains steel or aluminum and everyone knows it," Weld said. He backed the idea of free trade.
Walsh echoed that criticism, blasting Trump's erratic economic policy as damaging to the nation's economy.
Read more: Trump ramps up his criticisms of China's trade policies as tariff escalations loom
"The uncertainty, the hour-by-hour 'where is this president going?' has everybody in the business community on edge," Walsh said. "They're not investing, they're not hiring. This is where your slowdown is coming from."
Walsh said he would undo the tariffs worth hundreds of billions of dollars that Trump has levied on Chinese goods, which has fueled fears of a global recession and led American businesses to pull back on hiring.
According to a study by the National Foundation for American Policy, the tariffs set to go into effect by the end of 2019 will cost American households $2,031 per year.
Trump has showed no signs of backing down from his confrontation with the world's second largest economic power. At the United Nations on Tuesday, he said, "I will not accept a bad deal for the American people."