Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch says history has demonstrated repeatedly that consumers ultimately bear the burden of tariffs.
WASHINGTON — The Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee is telling President Donald Trump he’s concerned that proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports would “undermine” the tax cuts Congress recently passed.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, says history has demonstrated repeatedly that consumers ultimately bear the burden of tariffs.
Hatch says in a letter to Trump he supports the president’s goal of targeting foreign countries that don’t compete fairly in trade. However, he believes the proposed tariffs would miss those countries and “would hit American businesses and families instead.”
The Senate Finance Committee has jurisdiction over international trade issues.
Hatch tells the president he looks forward to working with him on trade. He urges Trump to refocus efforts on opening overseas markets without imposing “harmful and unnecessary tax increases” on Americans.
A major aluminum trade group is telling the that it’s “deeply concerned” about the effects of global tariffs on aluminum production.
The Aluminum Association says it represents 114 member companies and more than 700,000 U. S. jobs. The group says in a letter to Trump that the administration should address a glut of Chinese aluminum and target China and other countries that have a history of circumventing trade rules. The trade group also wants the Trump administration to exempt vital trading partners such as Canada and the European Union.
Mexico’s economy secretary says his country might impose retaliatory tariffs on “politically sensitive” U. S. products if the United States doesn’t exempt Mexico from worldwide duties on steel and aluminum.
Alfonso Guajardo told the Televisa network on Tuesday that “what we would have to do is set up a response on those export goods that are the most politically sensitive, and target those goods in particular.” He did not give examples.
In the past, Mexico has sometimes slapped retaliatory tariffs on U. S. products from states that could influence the U. S. president in turn.
