CTTF Launches Video Revealing the Hypocrisy of National Retail Federation Anti-Tariff Parody Video with Ben Stein

The video, "Ben Stein Needs to Take a Day Off," highlights Ben Stein's real view of the steel and aluminum tariffs when he is not being paid.

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CTTF

May 25, 2018, 11:19 ET

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, CTTF released a video focusing on the shifting positions on trade of actor Ben Stein. The video calls out the inconsistencies in a new National Retail Federation commercial, a "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" parody, in which Mr. Stein channels his 1980s character and calls tariffs 'B-A-D Bad Economics." The new video seeks to bring attention to Mr. Stein's previous public statements made in favor of President Trump's tariffs when he was not being paid for his opinion.

President Trump, Don't Listen to Ben Stein. Tell him to take a day off.

In a March Fox News interview, Ben Stein lays out his opinion saying: "We have a special category for steel and aluminum, which is that they are vital defense commodities." He goes on to contradict the very point he makes in the NRF ad. "Steel and Aluminum do not cost very much. If you raise the price by 25 percent, it doesn't change the price of an automobile very much or a refrigerator by very much."

In March, President Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to save thousands of American jobs. As a result, special interest groups such as the NRF are running attack ads to mislead the American public about the urgent need for tariffs—which will protect the U.S. aluminum industry after decades of job loss and smelter closures as a result of countries not playing by the rules.

"It is disappointing to see a well-known public figure and former economist mislead the American public by using comedy and satire to challenge President Trump's historic tariffs on aluminum and steel that protect us from countries that cheat," said CTTF Executive Director Mark Duffy. "What is even more disappointing is that Mr. Stein knows that his latest paid advertisement is misleading and inaccurate. Immediately after the President acted to protect our national security and save the U.S. aluminum industry, Mr. Stein voiced his support for President Trump's tariffs, yet as soon as he is offered a paycheck by a high-paying special interest group, he is quick to change his mind. These tariffs have had a significant impact on the sustainability, preservation, and protection of America's aluminum industry and any attempt to discredit these impacts must be challenged head-on."

Mr. Stein's ad, which originally aired on several broadcast channels during primetime hours, is an indication of the misleading and deceptive tactics used to maintain access to illegally subsidized aluminum at the expense of American aluminum workers in the wake of the Trump Administration's Section 232 relief.

For the full CTTF video, please CLICK HERE

About CTTF:

CTTF, a coalition of U.S. aluminum producers, seeks to bring attention to the harm that global aluminum overcapacity is bringing to American aluminum workers. To learn more, visit www.cttf.com/aluminumnow

SOURCE CTTF