Industry News

WASHINGTON, D.C., (December 1, 2021) — Today, Americans for Free Trade (AFT), a broad coalition of American businesses, trade organizations, and workers united against tariffs sent a letter to House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA-1) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX-8), as well as House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Trade Chairman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3) and Ranking Member Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16) ahead of the Subcommittee on Trade’s upcoming hearing regarding U.S. competitiveness with China.

“As companies in the U.S. continue to recover from the the global pandemic, and the massive supply chain disruptions we are now facing due to the shipping crisis we continue to call upon the Administration to refocus our trade debate with China so the pain is not disproportionately felt by U.S. companies,” Americans for Free Trade wrote. “To date, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has collected over $113 billion dollars in tariffs from American companies who import products from China. These taxes have increased the cost of doing business in the United States and have further exacerbated inflation concerns. They are a financial burden on American businesses – negatively impacting their ability to invest in their companies, hire more American workers, and remain competitive globally.”

More than 175 trade associations signed on to the letter. The full text of the letter may be found here.