Industry Groups Tie Up Against Trump's Trade Policies

After months of waging a backdoor war against US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs that have worsened far more than what business groups once expected, over 60 US industry groups are launching an alliance on Wednesday to take the fight public.

The establishment of the group, Americans for Free Trade, comes after Trump has warmed to the use of tariffs, imposing billions of dollars in an attempt to win concessions or in the belief they will create US jobs.

“A lot of other interest groups thought they wouldn’t go this long or go this deep, but the layering effect (of tariffs) has finally gotten everyone to say: ‘Enough is enough,” stated Nicole Vasilaros, the top lobbyist for the National Marine Manufacturers Association, whose members are considering laying off workers because of rising costs as much as 35 percent.

Trump has already slapped 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, mostly industrial machinery and intermediate electronics parts like semiconductors.

A pending $200 billion list would extend into consumer goods. There is also the threat of an additional $267 billion would basically affect every Chinese export to the United States. China has threatened to retaliate, which could mean actions against US companies that are operating in China.

The US has demanded that Beijing better protect American intellectual property, slash its US trade surplus, provide American companies greater access to its markets and roll back its high tech industrial subsidy programs.

The business coalition includes different groups that represent some of the country’s biggest companies such as the American Petroleum Institute, which represents the largest refiners like Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp, and the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which stands for companies like Target Corp and Autozone Inc.

“There has been a lot of work that has been going on over the last eight months to try to persuade the president and the administration that tariffs are not going to work. Our view is that it’s not too late,” stated Dean Garfield, who is the chief executive of the Information Technology Industry Council, whose members are Microsoft Corp, Google-parent Alphabet Inc, and Apple Inc, among others.

While Trump warned tariffs on the campaign trail and put a stop on America’s involvement in the Trans Pacific Partnership, which is a huge and major multinational trade pact, few observers took his threats seriously.

Trump has since shown that he takes tariffs seriously, stacking up attacks on China, threatening car import levies, and encouraging a more pro-American North American Free Trade Agreement, risking the existence of the three-country trade pact.

The coalition grew out of weekly discussions that feature industries organized by the National Retail Federation, which has members that include Amazon.com, Macy’s Inc, and Walmart Inc.

“This is almost every sector of the American economy involved,” stated David French, who is the top lobbyist for the NRF.

The group will aim at the Republican members of the Congress in five states, which are Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, and Tennessee. Even though the group is not electioneering prior to the November 6 elections where the control of Congress is at stake, it will still encourage its constituents to sit down with lawyers to discuss trade issues. The group, further, is looking to expand the effort to a dozen states by the end of the year.

The members of the Congress have not managed to slow down Trump’s protectionist march, while few have been speaking publicly since others were fearful of rousing the ire of the president and the Republican base.

The coalition tries to push Republican lawmakers to press Trump to abandon tariffs by persuading him that his trade policy could undo his tax and deregulation push.

“The sugar high of the lower taxes and the reduced rules that have fueled the stock market since the president was elected are in jeopardy,” stated Gary Shapiro, who is the head of the Consumer Technology Association, whose members include Facebook Inc and IBM Corp. He cautioned that some of his members were thinking of layoffs.

Steve Pasierb, who is the head of the Toy Association, whose members include Hasbro Inc, Barnes & Noble Inc, and Mattel Inc, said that the members of the Congress were hard to convince that they need to be worried.

“It’s been this kind of slow build that got worse and worse and worse. I don’t think anybody in DC saw this coming,” he said.

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