Press Releases and Statements Archives - National Foreign Trade Council

NFTC Urges Administration to Double-Down on Dealmaking in the Wake of Court’s Decision on Tariffs

Posted on May 29, 2025May 29, 2025 by Marshall Lane

Following the Court of International Trade’s opinion in two cases challenging the President’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on goods from nearly every country, National Foreign Trade Council President Jake Colvin released the following statement:

“The Court’s decision is encouraging news for American businesses and consumers and a powerful reminder of Congress’ responsibility to set tariffs.

“While the Court’s ruling is welcome, it is likely to foster ongoing uncertainty given the appeals process and the likelihood that the Administration will continue to use other legal authorities to impose tariffs.

”With the IEEPA duties in flux, the Administration now has the opportunity to laser-focus attention on removing other countries’ trade barriers while offering them relief from existing and future U.S. tariffs – including sectoral tariffs – in return. The promise of certainty is a compelling reason for America’s trading partners to negotiate in good faith and strike deals.

”Secretaries Bessent and Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Greer have already laid the groundwork to secure new deals. The Trump Administration has a chance to double-down on its dealmaking and set commercially-meaningful, zero-tariff agreements as its North Star.

“Looking ahead, there’s a real opportunity to turn the emerging framework with the United Kingdom into a comprehensive trade and technology agreement that eliminates tariffs, strengthens AI cooperation and commits London to removing its discriminatory digital services tax. The Administration can challenge the European Union to eliminate tariffs on a reciprocal basis while securing commitments by Brussels to roll back regulatory overreach in areas like corporate sustainability due diligence and working with Member States to remove discriminatory digital taxes and policies. And the United States can use ongoing bilateral talks and the joint review of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement to knock down remaining barriers with our closest trading partners, including repealing Canada’s digital services tax and strengthening North American energy security.”

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.

NFTC Statement Following Passage of Reconciliation Bill

Posted on May 22, 2025May 29, 2025 by Joe Locher

WASHINGTON DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Vice President for International Tax Policy Anne Gordon released a statement following the passage of the reconciliation bill:

“We would like to once again thank Chairman Smith and the Ways & Means Committee and staff for their tireless work on this bill and Speaker Johnson and the leadership team for their efforts to bring critical U.S. tax legislation one step closer to becoming a reality.

“We congratulate the House on passing the One, Big, Beautiful Bill and urge the Senate to take up work on it as quickly as possible. While we commend the House for including the preservation of the core international and business provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in their bill – Foreign-Derived Intangible Income, Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income and the Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax, we’d encourage the Senate to consider addressing some of the issues that remain outstanding. In particular, we’d urge them to include permanence for research and development expensing, interest deductibility and bonus depreciation and the inclusion of other longstanding tax policies such as controlled foreign corporation look-through which are of crucial importance for American companies.

“The NFTC and its member companies look forward to continued engagement with Congress and the administration to finalize a legislative tax framework which ensures U.S. competitiveness in the global market.”

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About the NFTC

The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) is the premier business association advancing trade and tax 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.

NFTC Cautions Against Tariffs on Critical Minerals

Posted on May 16, 2025May 29, 2025 by Veronica Berkshire

WASHINGTON DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today submitted comments to the Department of Commerce for the Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Processed Critical Minerals and Derivative Products.

The comments read, in part, “The U.S. cannot compete with China simply by forcing American companies to pay more for these minerals without an alternative. Building an alternative supply chain will take years and significant investment from both the private and public sectors. Tariffs only serve to drive up prices, which results in making U.S. products less competitive globally.”

“Our position on this 232 investigation aligns with the comments we submitted last week for similar investigations into semiconductors and pharmaceuticals,” said Jeannette Chu, Vice President for National Security Policy. “In our comments, we once again reiterate our support for the Administration’s objective to bolster national security by increasing domestic manufacturing of certain products and inputs, but believe that tariffs are not the best option. Instead, we offer recommendations to strengthen U.S. national security and competitiveness by diversifying and enhancing access to these inputs.”

Read our full comments here.

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About the NFTC
The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) is the premier business association advancing trade and tax 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.

NFTC Statement on Release of Reconciliation Bill Tax Text

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Joe Locher

WASHINGTON DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Vice President for International Tax Policy Anne Gordon released a statement following the release of the reconciliation bill:

“Thank you to Chairman Smith, the Members of the Committee and all involved in the crafting of the tax provisions of this bill. We believe it is an important step toward providing the long term tax framework that our companies need to succeed.

“We are glad that the bill creates permanence for TCJA’s international measures and restores several expired provisions, including R&D and the interest limitation deduction. As the process moves forward, we urge the Committee to consider other important reforms and improvements to the international tax rules, including the continuation of CFC look-through.”

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NFTC Welcomes Progress on China Talks; Urges Continued Work

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Joe Locher

WASHINGTON DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Jake Colvin today issued a statement following the announcement that the United States and China have come to an agreement to lower reciprocal tariffs:

“We welcome today’s news that the United States and China have come to an agreement that cools the rapidly escalating trade war and gives some reprieve to U.S. businesses and consumers.

“However, a temporary pause is just that. We urge the administration to continue engagement with China to come to a lasting agreement that will allow American companies to make long-term plans in a more stable and certain environment.

“This agreement doesn’t address the added costs of doing business resulting from the non tariff changes the administration has recently implemented. The added costs of slower supply chains, more burdensome customs processes and inadequate guidance are hard to quantify but are just as destabilizing for businesses as the tariffs themselves.

“We thank Secretary Bessent and Ambassador Greer for their ongoing engagement and look forward to securing further stability in our economic relationship with China, as well as with all of our other trading partners.”

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NFTC Statement on U.S.-UK Trade Deal

Posted on May 8, 2025 by Veronica Berkshire

Washington, DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Jake Colvin today issued the following statement following the President’s announcement of a trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom:

“We welcome the progress announced today to improve the U.S.-UK economic relationship. Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction, but the devil will be in the details.

“Businesses are looking for a durable and commercially-meaningful agreement that eliminates existing tariffs and trade barriers as well as future threats and uncertainty. While it appears a lot of the details remain to be worked out, we are concerned that many of the tariffs and trade barriers may remain in place.

“If this agreement leaves in place a 10% U.S. tariff on most imports from the UK, that would constitute a four-fold increase from the duties that existed prior to the President’s April 2 announcement. Likewise, it would be extremely disappointing if the UK doesn’t use this opportunity to address key trade irritants such as its digital services tax, which is a discriminatory policy that disproportionately targets U.S. companies.

“We commend the efforts of U.S. negotiators, including Ambassador Greer and Secretaries Bessent and Lutnick, and urge them to build on today’s announcement to eliminate tariffs and trade barriers over the coming weeks and months. A comprehensive free trade agreement that eliminates duties and barriers is the ultimate reciprocal tariff deal, and we hope that remains the north star for both sides.”

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NFTC Urges “Do No Harm” Approach in Semiconductor 232 Investigation

Posted on May 8, 2025May 8, 2025 by Veronica Berkshire

Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today submitted comments to the Commerce Department as part of the Administration’s 232 investigation of imports of semiconductors and their derivative products, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

The comments read, “NFTC respectfully asks that any measures adopted by the Administration through this investigation take a “do no harm” approach to the ongoing reshoring projects for advanced semiconductors. We urge the Administration to prioritize the adoption of pro-growth, non-tariff measures that facilitate the expeditious onshoring of planned advanced semiconductor manufacturing investments. Such measures could involve permitting reform, removing regulatory barriers that throttle growth and innovation, pro-growth tax policy, and a focus on the removal of trade and export barriers to U.S.-made products around the world.”

NFTC’s comments address the potential impact of Section 232 tariffs and offer non-tariff alternatives to strengthen domestic manufacturing while lessening the negative effects on the U.S. economy and the availability of these products.

“Semiconductors are everywhere and they are a key input in thousands of products Americans use every day. While we support the Administration’s efforts to ensure domestic access and production of semiconductors, chips and other derivative products, we believe we have one shot at getting this right. We are deeply concerned that getting this wrong and incorrectly applying either tariffs or non-tariff tools, will cause devastating and potentially permanent harm to this industry,” said Jeannette Chu, NFTC’s Vice President for National Security Policy. “Instead, we hope the Administration will consider the alternatives we lay out in our comments in order to ensure that the U.S. continues to build a durable and competitive industrial base that supports and enhances U.S. technology leadership for the future.”

Read our full comments here.

Earlier today the NFTC submitted comments in the Administration’s Section 232 Investigation of Imports of Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaceutical Ingredients. You can read them here.

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NFTC Supports Strengthening Pharmaceutical Supply Chains, but Tariffs are not the Answer

Posted on May 7, 2025May 8, 2025 by Joe Locher

Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today submitted comments to the Commerce Department as part of the Administration’s 232 investigation of imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients.

NFTC urged the Administration to make its policy objectives clear and to approach the investigation with extreme caution given the risk tariff actions could have on access to life-saving medicines. Specifically, NFTC requests that the Administration not apply tariffs.

Instead, given the complexities of the global pharmaceutical supply chain, the Administration should deepen its partnership and coordination with allies and incentivize the domestic manufacture of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients through a positive regulatory, business and taxation framework.

NFTC’s comments, in part, emphasize that “it is not possible to utilize tariffs as a policy instrument to restructure pharmaceutical supply chains without irrevocable harm to drug manufacturing, to the health of Americans, and the American healthcare system.”

“We welcome the Administration’s focus on strengthening pharmaceutical supply chains, but tariffs aren’t the answer,” added Brad Wood, Senior Director for Trade and Innovation Policy. “We urge the Administration to narrow the focus of their investigation, and to prioritize policy actions that will strengthen American pharmaceutical competitiveness, support global supply chains, and protect patient and consumer access to the medicines and treatments that they rely on.”

NFTC’s comments can be found here.

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NFTC Announces Key Leadership Promotions to Strengthen Operations and Supply Chain Policy

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Joe Locher

John Pickel, Marshall Lane and Patty Gonzalez will hold new positions

Washington, D.C. – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Jake Colvin today released the following statement announcing three staffing changes: John Pickel will now serve as Vice President for International Supply Chain Policy; Marshall Lane will now serve as Chief Administrative Officer and Patty Gonzalez will now serve as Executive Assistant.

“I am thrilled to be able to recognize the great work that John, Marshall and Patty do every day at the NFTC with these new positions.

“John has been an invaluable member of the team since his first day at the NFTC. His knowledge of just about every aspect of the international supply chain space is unparalleled, and we are thrilled to keep growing NFTC’s work in this area under his leadership.

“Marshall’s new role comes as he approaches his 25th year at the NFTC. During that time, his responsibilities have grown to include leading the NFTC’s efforts in all administrative aspects. As Chief Administrative Officer, he will continue to grow and modernize the NFTC and we are thrilled for him to hold this title.

“Patty is the glue that holds the NFTC team together. I am thrilled that she will now be occupying this new role and continuing her stellar support of the entire NFTC team.”

John, Patty and Marshall’s bios can be found here.

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NFTC Supports Bipartisan Efforts to Reassert Congressional Authority Over Tariffs

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Veronica Berkshire

WASHINGTON, D.C. – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Vice President for Global Trade Policy Tiffany Smith today issued the following statement:

“We welcome the bipartisan action led by Senators Grassley and Cantwell and Representatives Bacon, Gottheimer, Hurd and Meeks to reassert Congressional authority over the tariff process. While we support the Administration’s efforts to grow our economy, we also believe that Congress has a critical role to play in setting trade policy and has clear Article 1 authority to set duties and taxes.

“Appropriate oversight by the Congress can ensure that tariff actions support the broader national interests and balance both the economic benefits and potential negative effects that some of these policies may have on American businesses and consumers across the country.”

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