Grand Rapids – Vice President Mike Pence celebrated Wednesday afternoon controversial import tariffs at a steel processing plant in Grand Rapids, arguing that US steel would come back "thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump ".

During his eight-month visit to Michigan since taking office less than two years ago, Mr. Pence has also announced federal tax cuts and paid tribute to the man. Rich DeVos businessman, philanthropist and Republican heavyweight died last week at age 92.

The Trump administration in March announced tariffs of 25% on foreign steel and 10% on foreign aluminum, a measure that Pence has described as a "decisive measure of protection against dumping by foreign companies" .

"Prepare to be even busier," the vice president told company officials and line workers in a 22-minute speech against a backdrop of big steel rolls and American flags.

Steel tariffs are expected to benefit domestic producers, but they have also triggered retaliatory tariffs from other countries that were not exempt. Business groups like the US Chamber of Commerce warn that tariffs will hurt companies that rely on metal imports and raise prices for consumers on certain products.

Michigan accounts for 3.8% of the country's metal imports, according to the Tax Foundation, a non-profit organization, which estimated in March that a global price could cost businesses $ 340 million in 2018. Taxes would have impact on business decisions. possibly be passed on to consumers through higher prices, "according to the analysis.

Trump's retaliatory trade policy, seen as a force in the 2016 campaign, is being opposed by most Michigan voters, according to a poll conducted Sept. 5-7 by The Detroit News. Half of the 600 potential voters surveyed oppose trade sanctions imposed by Trump on other countries, while 41% support them and the remaining 9% are undecided.

The survey conducted by Glengariff Group, based in Lansing, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 points.

Former US Vice President Joe Biden is also expected to travel to Michigan on Wednesday. He will participate in a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Gretchen Whitmer in Bloomfield Hills.

Governor Rick Snyder and US Representative Bill Huizenga, R-Zealand, joined Pence at the Grand Rapids event. It was also introduced by Mill Steel President and CEO David Samrick, who in February offered the country's 400 full-time employees a one-time bonus of $ 1,000, citing tax cuts on companies. law late last year.

"US jobs and US growth occur when you stray from the American people, which we do exactly in this administration," said Pence, also noting measures to reduce government regulations.

The Vice President's last visit to Michigan comes less than eight weeks before the November 6 elections. Attorney General Bill Schutte, the Republican candidate in place of Snyder, did not attend the rally and was busy raising money for Metro Detroit, his campaign said.

The US Senate candidate John James, whom Pence collected last month, did not attend the meeting because it was an official White House event and not a campaign stop.

But Mr. Pence used his speech before US Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, whom he described as one of Michigan's two "Liberal Senators" who opposed the federal plan to reduce taxes, which would be a bad deal for Michigan.

Stabenow said the proof will be in your paychecks, Pence told Mill Steel workers. "I think when you got that $ 1,000 bonus, you saw the evidence in your pay check, and that tax cuts work for the people of Michigan."

Despite the growth of the state and the national economy, the Detroit News poll showed that many Michigan voters think they are on the wrong track. The survey of 600 likely voters showed Trump remains unpopular in Michigan and could lead to other Republican candidates in the mid-term elections.

About 37% of voters said they had a favorable opinion of the president, while 57% said they had a negative opinion.

The numbers were virtually unchanged from a January 2018 survey. The survey did not measure the popularity of Pence.

The vice president was the last in Michigan on August 29 when he attended a fundraiser at Bloomfield Hills for James. On August 8, Pence was leading a GOP unit rally in Grand Rapids, where he celebrated with James and Attorney General Bill Schuette, the Republican candidate for governorship.

Snyder has not attended the unity rally and has so far refused to support Schuette in his race for governorship against Democrat Gretchen Whitmer and the third party candidates.

The governor greeted Wednesday Pence on the tarmac, and the two exchanged compliments during their remarks to Mill Steel.

Pence has praised Snyder for his "job well done" over the past eight years in Michigan.

"When I was Governor of the state of Indiana, I had to compete with this governor every day of the week to find a job, and I'm glad I did not do it any more," he said.

Snyder noted Pence's regular visits to the state and joked that he was "trying to make him a resident."

Joined by his wife Karen in Grand Rapids, Pence was also scheduled to meet privately with the DeVos family on a public day with Rich DeVos, co-founder of Amway and father-in-law of US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

DeVos was a "great American" who "literally embodied the American dream," said Pence. He left an "indelible mark on this city, this state and this nation".

Pence concluded his speech by saying that the best way to remember DeVos was to imitate him.

"We will fight for a safer and more prosperous America, built on the timeless principles that have always made America great," he said. "… And to borrow a phrase, we will make America once again a great success"

Pence did not discuss health care or efforts to weaken the Affordable Care Act after Congress failed to repeal the law, but Democrats took advantage of his visit to attack James and Schuette on these fronts. They suggested that Republican candidates "will approve both the Trump administration's plan to strip health care and cover Michiganders with pre-existing health problems."

Schuette is a critic of the federal law on health care, known as Obamacare, and has fought in court. But on the trail of the campaign, he said he would like any replacement law to continue to provide coverage to residents with pre-existing conditions.

Schuette told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that Michigan's Medicaid expansion is "the law" and is "going nowhere". He stated that "as governor, he would focus on the Medicaid work requirements that the legislature passed this year and that the Snyder administration asked the Trump administration to" get the job done. approve with a derogation.

The vice president was a staple in Michigan during the final weeks of the 2016 campaign, which Trump ended with an election night in downtown Grand Rapids a few hours before becoming the first Republican to win Michigan since 1988.

Editor Melissa Nann Burke contributed.

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