US trade policy unlikely to shift despite midterm defeat

US tariffs were a drag on Republicans in midterm elections, but President Donald Trump is unlikely to change tack on trade, experts said. Trump has sought to use tariffs to bolster domestic employment and cut trade deficits, but "each of these goals is wrong-headed, and neither has been met ," one analyst wrote in the Financial Times.

The legislature has limited sway over the imposition of levies , a former Trump administration economic adviser noted, and even if it sought to force his hand, " Trump will reject any attempt to limit the use of his favorite tool ," an Atlantic Council scholar argued. One country has benefited, though: Canada's prime minister said the US is "asking less" and "offering more" in once-rancorous negotiations.