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Trump trade offensive endangering workers, businesses: US lobby group
WASHINGTON, July 3, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump’s escalating
trade offensive endangers a growing number of local companies and American
jobs, a powerful US business group warned Monday.
But the Trump administration persisted in defending its burgeoning, multi-
front trade war, with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross saying the world’s
largest economy was robust enough to face the economic blowback.
But the US Chamber of Commerce said key trading partners have hit back
against Trump’s aggression with tariffs on $75 billion in American exports so
far.
And although Trump himself denied reports he plans to withdraw from the
World Trade Organization, which the US helped create, a media report late
Sunday said the White House had drafted legislation that would allow the
president to impose tariffs without congressional approval and largely
outside WTO rules.
Steep US tariffs on more than $30 billion in Chinese imports are due to
take effect on Friday as retribution for Beijing’s alleged theft of US
intellectual property.
Meanwhile, Canada retaliated against US steel and aluminum tariffs by
imposing retaliatory duties on $12.6 billion in American goods starting
Sunday. Ottawa targeted American steel and aluminum as well as goods from
politically sensitive regions like Florida orange juice and Kentucky bourbon.
That followed EU decision to impose 20 percent tariffs on over $3 billion
in US goods, including motorcycles, blue jeans and bourbon, as well as orange
juice and peanut butter.
Thomas Donahue, president of the influential US Chamber of Commerce, said
Monday the tariffs were “simply taxes that raise prices for everyone.”
The US Chamber highlighted vulnerable exports from states that had
supported Trump in his surprise 2016 presidential election victory, including
$2.3 billion in Michigan steel and aluminum goods as well as autos, $1.7
billion in Pennsylvania steel, iron, coffee and baked goods, and $1 billion
in Wisconsin cheese, toilet paper and ginseng.
The US Chamber also published an interactive map on the internet showing
the impact of the trade dispute in all 50 states.
MORE/MR/ 1111 hrs
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The states with the most to lose are Washington, which borders Canada and
had $6.2 billion in threatened exports, coastal energy hub Louisiana, at $5.9
billion, and California, the nation’s most populous state, with $5.6 billion,
according to the analysis.
– Quitting the WTO? –
But Ross said Monday the American economy had shown no signs of stuttering
due to the rising trade barriers, with high capital expenditures, rising
capital repatriation and vigorous jobs markets.
“So I think all these claims about the sky is falling are at least
premature and probably quite inaccurate,” Ross said on CNBC.
Meanwhile, a monthly survey of American manufacturers found companies are
“overwhelmingly” concerned by Trump’s trade policies, the Institute for
Supply Management reported Monday.
Adding to the uncertainty, political news website Axios said Sunday a
draft bill crafted by the White House at Trump’s request — dubbed the Fair
and Reciprocal Tariff Act — would allow the president to impose goods
tariffs on imports from any country he believes unfairly taxes similar US
goods sold in the opposite direction.
The proposal was met with criticism and derision, with some dubbing the
bill the FART Act, in keeping with Washington’s reliance on acronyms.
The White House has denied that it intends to pull out of the World Trade
Organization but such legislation would be fundamentally at odds with WTO
rules.
In his interview on Monday, Ross said it Washington was critical of the
WTO but not immediately planning to exit the organization.
“We’ve made no secret of our view that there are some reforms needed at
the WTO,” he said. “I think it’s a little premature to talk about simply
withdrawing from it.”
Wall Street stocks on Monday started the third quarter lower and were
mostly in the red by mid-afternoon, with investors continuing to pull back on
fears a trade war will dampen US economic momentum.
But Ross also told the network falling stock markets would not cause the
administration to reverse course.
“There’s no bright line level of the stock market that’s going to change
policy,” he said.
The United States is tackling long-term problems and “there obviously is
going to be some pulling and tugging as we try to deal with very serious
problems, so there will be hic-cups along the way.”
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1111 hrs