Energy Chief Rick Perry Says He's ‘not Sure' If Trump Has ‘made Up His Mind With Clarity' on New Tariffs

WASHINGTON -- Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Wednesday offered a degree of caution about President Donald Trump's plans to impose steep steel and aluminum tariffs, saying that "strategically deploying tariffs and messaging regulations is the key here."The former Texas governor, speaking at an energy conference in Houston, also said the trade talks are an "ongoing conversation.""I'm not going to speak for the president here today," Perry said at a CERAWeek news conference, according to video posted by Investor's Business Daily. "I'm not sure he has made up his mind with clarity about where he wants to go with this."That delicate messaging could point to the competing tugs that Perry is facing over Trump's tough trade stance.The president -- Perry's boss -- has made clear that he wants to take dramatic action, boasting that "trade wars are good" and "easy to win." But Perry's fellow Texas Republicans have raised alarms about the potential harm to their longstanding efforts to expand free trade.  Continue reading...