Texas Sen. Ted Cruz challenged front runner Donald Trump on his trade policy, noting placing a 45 percent tax on imports from foreign countries would hurt American consumers.
“If you can’t pay the bills, how does it help you to have a President to then come and say, ‘I’m going to jack up, I’m going to put a 45 percent tax on diapers when you buy diapers, on automobiles when you buy automobiles, on clothing when you buy clothing,” Mr. Cruz asked.
“That hurts you, it’s why we’ve got to get beyond rhetoric of ‘China bad,’ and actually get to how you solve the problem, because this solution would hurt jobs and hurt hardworking taxpayers in America.”
Mr. Trump hit back, saying his trade policy would actually have the opposite effect.
“The 45 percent tax isn’t a tax, it’s a threat,” Mr. Trump said. “It will be a tax if they don’t change.”
• Kelly Riddell can be reached at kriddell@washingtontimes.com.
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