Billionaire conservative warns Trump trade war could trigger recession

Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch is warning that Trump administration trade policies could trigger a recession.

The conservative activist is lashing out at the Republican president’s brewing international trade war as hundreds of donors attend a private gathering at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

Koch tells reporters during a rare question-and-answer session that “protectionism at any level” is “detrimental.”

He says Trump’s approach, “if it’s severe enough,” could lead to a recession.

The administration has imposed billions of dollars of tariffs on Chinese and Canadian goods and threatened billions more on America’s allies in Europe. The White House last week announced plans to send $12 billion in taxpayer dollars to U.S. farmers to help ease the economic fallout.

The powerful Koch network is promising to punish politicians in either party who support the tariffs.