Cartersville, GA -- US Sen. David Perdue visited the Budweiser plant in Cartersville Friday, where he told workers he doesn’t favor aluminum tariffs.
When he left the room, he told reporters that he doesn’t oppose them either.
Perdue got a long look at the Bartow County plant where Anheuser Busch brews beer and other drinks.
After it’s brewed, much of it is packed into aluminum cans. Much of America’s aluminum comes from overseas – subject to higher prices from the trade war launched by President Trump.
Perdue heard about it from anxious workers after he stepped away from the canning line.
"Specifically with regard to steel and aluminum, do you agree with the president’s recent tariffs?" one man asked Perdue during a town hall-style meeting.
"I do not favor a broad tariff like we've had on steel and aluminum," Perdue responded.
Perdue is one of President Trump’s strongest backers in the US Senate. And that showed more after he left the room full of workers – and told reporters that Trump’s trade war, while painful, is working.
"I just don’t like broad brush tariffs except from the standpoint that they do get people (leading other countries) to the (negotiating) table and that’s what this has done," Perdue said. Asked specifically if he opposes tariffs as a tactic, he said "No, not at all. It’s just another way to do it. I think it will work. It causes some displacement and pain in the beginning... (but) this will work. It’s working right now."
Perdue, a former businessman, says he would have preferred to avoid a trade war. But he also said he thinks the president’s instincts on trade are good.
