U.S. businesses of varying sizes will use public hearings this week to urge the Trump administration to reverse tariffs on nearly $50 billion in Chinese imports.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will hold the first of three sessions on the proposed duties – which could affect more than 1,300 categories of products from automotive parts to semiconductors and medical equipment – on Tuesday. The assessments followed the president’s decision to impose separate levies of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum, moves that frustrated a number of U.S. allies.
Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s office will receive input on the China charges from prominent companies and trade groups such as General Electric, Best Buy and the National Retail Federation, many of which are expected to raise concerns about the policy’s effects on their businesses. Trump has said the China duties address concerns including intellectual property theft and will help reverse a trade imbalance between the two countries.
The opposition from influential industry groups, however – some of which have been strong supporters of the Republican party for years – is immense. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a written submission, said the tariffs “will not effectively address or advance our shared goal of changing these harmful Chinese practices.”
“Tariffs will be particularly damaging to U.S. small and medium-sized manufacturers and exporters who rely on imported components and inputs to produce goods in the United States, for sale in domestic and global markets,” the group wrote.
One of those businesses is automotive supply company Lucerne International. Chief Executive Officer Mary Buchzeiger, a self-described Republican who opposes the tariffs, said she relies on Asian manufacturers because there’s no viable U.S. alternative for the specialized types of steel and aluminum that companies like hers require.
“These kinds of things takes years of testing,” Buchzeiger said in an interview. “Planning that supply chain and making those plans for the kind of materials you are going to use isn’t something you can just flip a switch and change overnight.”
One of Lucerne’s largest contracts is to supply door, hood and tailgate hinges for Fiat Chrysler’s Jeep Wrangler. Trump’s proposal calls for a 25 percent tariff on imports of steel, aluminum, or zinc hinges for motor vehicles.
“For the life of me, I can’t figure out why my certified woman-owned company in the heart of Trump country is being targeted,” Buchzeiger wrote in a column in Crain’s Detroit Business.
Some groups are taking what may be a more direct approach to catch the president’s ear. The National Retail Federation is spending six figures to run an anti-tariff ad on shows including “Fox & Friends,” a morning news and commentary program that Trump regularly watches.
