U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick on Trump tariffs: 'Let's give it a little time'

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick said Monday after touring an East Pittsburgh manufacturing facility that it’s too soon to pass judgment on the sweeping tariffs imposed last week by President Donald Trump.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty (over the tariffs) right now. I think over the coming days and weeks a lot of that uncertainty will be eliminated and we’ll have more clarity,” McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, said after touring Eos Energy Enterprises’ sprawling battery plant in East Pittsburgh.

The tariffs have sent U.S. and global markets tumbling since being announced Wednesday. On Monday, financial firm Goldman Sachs issued a new forecast pinning the likelihood of a recession at 45% — up from 35% last week and 20% before that.

Trump has said tariffs can raise money for the U.S. Treasury, protect U.S. industries, draw factories to the United States and serve as a negotiating tactic to get other countries to bend to his will, whether it means getting them to reduce their own tariffs or to crack down on the illegal flow of drugs and immigrants into the United States.

As for the tariffs’ immediate impact on the markets and Americans’ retirement accounts, along with the potential for higher inflation and a recession, McCormick said, “I’m very conscious of it, I’m very worried about it. I’m watching to see what these tariffs do, not just to the markets, but to businesses in Pennsylvania. But I’d say, let’s give it a little time.”

“The president has laid out a path. Now I’m looking forward to seeing him negotiate the kinds of deals that will make sure we have trade fairness,” the senator added. “If we do that, the real economy is going to be great. If the real economy is great, the stock market is going to be fine.”

McCormick said he opposes a bipartisan proposal in the U.S. Senate that would require congressional approval for Trump’s tariffs. The proposal has the backing of seven Republican senators, The Hill reported. Trump has threatened to veto the bill should it make it to his desk.

McCormick toured the Eos Energy Enterprises site, formerly home to a Westinghouse Electric plant, to learn more about how the company makes American-made, zinc-based battery energy storage systems, with 90% of its necessary materials coming from the United States. It aims to use only domestic materials within a year, said Eos CEO Joe Mastrangelo.

The company is undertaking a $500 million expansion in Allegheny County, funded largely by a $400 million federal loan secured last year.

As for tariffs and how Trump argues they could address unfair trading practices and spur domestic manufacturing, Mastrangelo said, “In my 30 years, I can’t tell you how many programs I went through in other countries where if you want the business in the country, you have to put a manufacturing facility there.

“We’re doing what everybody else has done. And we’re proof that if you put your nose to the grindstone and work hard, you can create opportunities, build jobs and show things can still be built in America without being dependent” on foreign goods and supplies.