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Charles Koch Warns Trump Trade War Could Trigger Recession

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

Koch lashed out at President Donald Trump's brewing international trade war during a private weekend gathering in Colorado of hundreds of conservative donors.

Koch, chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, told reporters that "protectionism at any level" is "detrimental."

He said 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.

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