Lawmakers and the business community are growing increasingly concerned that President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods will be around for the long term.
While tariff opponents still want the trade dispute between the U.S. and Beijing resolved and the tariffs lifted altogether, they are increasingly working on the assumption that the tariffs won’t go away soon and therefore need to be mitigated and prevented from expanding any further.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers said Wednesday in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer that the administration should arrange it so that any exception it has granted to its tariffs becomes permanent, citing the fact that there was no indication the tariffs would be lifted any time soon. Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and James Lankford, R-Okla.; and Reps. Jackie Waloriski, R-Ind., and Ron Kind, D-Wis. signed the letter.
“Allowing previously granted exclusions to expire automatically even though there is no change in circumstances would be a mistake, and we urge you to ensure that products granted an exemption continue to be exempted from tariff application under any list until the tariffs have been completely lifted,” the lawmakers said.
The White House has allowed companies and trade associations to object to particular items included in the first $50 billion worth of Chinese products the administration subjected to tariffs. Exclusions are granted on a case-by-case basis.
Coons spokesman Sean Coit said his boss was worried about how long it might be before the tariffs go away, and ensuring the exclusions didn’t expire was something that could be done in the meantime. “It’s not that he thinks the tariffs are permanent, but the trade situation is definitely escalating and we don’t see a solution around the corner,” he said.
Waloriski spokesman Jack Morrisey said it was about giving businesses “a little bit of extra long-term certainty that if they get these exclusions, as long as nothing changes, they can count on that relief. That should be the case whether the tariffs are around for a few more weeks or a longer time.”
On Thursday, an ad-hoc coalition of trade associations called Tariffs Hurt the Heartland wrote the USTR’s office raising the fear of an “escalation of tit-for-tat tariffs” and calling on the administration to avoid a worsening of the trade war.
“History shows that once tariffs are in place, they are very difficult to remove. We still have tariffs in place from the 1930s,” said Bethany Aronhalt, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, one of the coalition’s members. “The possibility of these unprecedented tariffs staying in place for the foreseeable future is a very real concern among the business community and underscores the need for Congress to step up and reclaim its authority on trade.”
In late April, the White House and Beijing appeared close to a deal to resolve the trade conflict, but talks broke down in early May amid accusations that China was trying to walk back concessions it made earlier in the talks. That prompted the administration to raise existing tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods in total to 25% across the board, up from 10%.
Initial hopes that the negotiations would resume quickly have faded. No talks between the countries are scheduled, and prospects for future ones are dim. President Trump was initially scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 Summit in Japan on June 28, but both sides have since said a meeting is no longer definite. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley expressed some optimism that it could happen, telling Fox News on Thursday, “It looks like we’re moving in that direction.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is still in the process of introducing additional tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. President Trump has said he would decide on whether to go ahead with the tariffs after the G-20 summit.
Trump has said repeatedly he believes the tariffs are a net benefit for the U.S. economy and he would just as soon keep them. “What it really does mean is that a lot of those companies that are in China are going to be moving back to the U.S. You have car companies — General Motors, as an example — that built plants in China,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “Well, that doesn’t work out too well when you have the tariff wall up.”
