CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Dan Kildee

Interview

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[09:30:00] REP. DAN KILDEE (D-MI): Conducting. And one does have to ask the question, why not? What are they trying to hide?

SCIUTTO: A fair question. Finally, if I can ask you, because this just broke in the last several minutes, and that is that the Trump administration, the president, is delaying by six months auto tariffs that were planned targeting Japan and the E.U., to be clear, not China, those tariffs continue here. But, of course, the great state of Michigan has a few auto plants and auto workers there.

I wonder what your reaction is to the president's delay here? Do you welcome that change?

KILDEE: Well, what I would like to see from the president is a far more intentional strategy on all of this. I'm one who believes that there is an appropriate use of tariffs when some of our trading partners are bending the rules to their favor. But, unfortunately, the president has taken sort of a meat axe approach to this.

So, yes, I think there are instances where we need to make sure we protect American workers. But the problem is, the American auto industry, including domestic auto producers, rely upon a global supply chain. And sometimes I think the president likes his unilateral authority so much that he doesn't think about the downstream consequence. And that's what I'm worried about. We need a targeted approach to deal with those bad actors, but not do things that ultimately could slow down the economy and hurt American workers.

SCIUTTO: Congressman Dan Kildee, thanks very much for joining us.

KILDEE: Thank you, Jim.

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