Washington D.C. – The Tariff Reform Coalition (TRC), a broad alliance of business and agriculture groups seeking the reversal of Section 232 Tariffs and other recent tariff actions harmful to U.S. manufacturers and exporters, issued the following comments on the outcome of yesterday’s U.S. – EU Summit:
“Our coalition strongly supports the agreement to suspend all tariffs associated with the civil aircraft dispute for the next 5 years while the two sides work out a more permanent solution,” said Rufus Yerxa, President of the NFTC. “It is also welcome news that conversations will continue to take place on the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. However, we are disappointed that the two sides were not more proactive in putting in place a more rapid suspension of all tariffs related to the steel and aluminum dispute. The case for doing so is just as strong as for the aircraft sector.
“The evidence of harm to our own economy from the steel and aluminum tariffs is substantial – manufacturers are struggling to find materials to make products in the U.S., farmers and ranchers are having a hard time exporting their goods to countries that have imposed retaliatory tariffs and consumers are seeing higher prices for everyday goods,” Yerxa added.
“In addition to ending this self-inflicted damage, there is the broader importance of working together with Europe to strengthen the transatlantic marketplace and close ranks in dealing with China’s unfair policies and practices – a major source of concern on both sides of the Atlantic. We cannot achieve a true partnership with the EU in these areas if we insist upon prolonging unjustified tariff actions.”
In March of this year, the group released an advocacy paper (linked here), which outlines recommendations for the Biden Administration — beginning with the immediate roll back of tariffs on steel and aluminum. The TRC looks forward to working with policymakers and other stakeholders to identify and implement WTO compliant measures to address the legitimate concerns around China’s unfair trade practices.