National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Vice President for National Security Policy Jeannette Chu today issued the following statement:
“With several Section 232 decisions on the horizon, we remain concerned with the effects that broad, and potentially stacking, tariffs that could be prescribed through these national security investigations would have on domestic manufacturing. Tariffs on industrial equipment, parts and components for robotics, medical devices, and derivative semiconductor products would threaten the competitiveness of America’s most dynamic industries at a time when many companies are building factories and investing in capital equipment.
“The NFTC shares the administration’s goal to strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity and ensure American leadership in advanced technologies. However, broad tariffs on these sectors are likely to undermine the very goals this administration has championed by constraining manufacturing and introducing uncertainty that slows domestic investment and growth in production capacity.
“Several Section 232 investigations have resulted in a mix of tariff and non-tariff measures. Twenty-five percent tariffs on an extensive list of finished downstream steel and aluminum products, including many machinery products, have already negatively affected domestic manufacturing.
“Rather than tariffs, we urge the administration to pursue policies that support American industry and strengthen our national security by maintaining access to critical inputs and technologies from trusted partners and include incentives to boost R&D, workforce development, and advanced manufacturing.”
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About the NFTC
The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) is the premier business association advancing trade, tax, national security and supply chain policies that support access to the global marketplace. Founded in 1914, NFTC promotes an open, rules-based global economy on behalf of a diverse membership of U.S.-based businesses, who account for over $6 trillion in revenue and employ nearly 6 million people in the United States.
