Democracy Rules

Trade tariffs impose a cost on products that cross a border, thus raising prices within the country that imposes the tariff. In 2018, President Trump began levying tariffs on China to force it into changing their "unfair trade practices”. But it wasn’t only China we imposed tariffs upon. Other nations including Canada, Japan, the European Union, India and Mexico have all been targeted. Solar panels, washing machines, steel and aluminum were among the first products tariffed, often for reasons of “national security”. China strategically applied its own tariffs on manufactured goods and crops produced in areas with large numbers of Trump supporters.

Advocates claim retaliation by trading partners, and the prospect of further escalation, pose significant risk the world’s economy. American consumers were hurt by higher prices, but our farmers were hit especially hard. There were 595 family farm bankruptcies in 2019, up 20% from the year before. By 2020, our Treasury had paid nearly $44 billion to bail-out farmers and help them overcome the effects of these tariffs. The trade war also significantly damaged the economy and industrial output of Communist China. The Coronavirus pandemic and the trade war are causing many American companies to shift supply chains to other Asian nations such as Viet Nam. Advocates claim these events could lead to a US-China trade decoupling.

After the trade war escalated through 2019, the two sides reached a tentative agreement in 2020 when the Trump administration said China committed to buy an additional $200 billion worth of American exports in 2020 and 2021. However, this agreement expired in 2021 with China failing by a wide margin to purchase American goods and services as agreed, and the trade war continues today.

Proposed Legislation: Reintroduction of H.R.5289 - Assistance for Firms Harmed by Tariffs on Exports Act (117th Congress 2021-2022)
Prospective Sponsor: Rep. Bradley Scott Schneider (IL)

I oppose reforming current trade war policy and wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (CA).
I support providing adjustment assistance to firms that have experienced a decrease in the export of the firm's articles or services as a result of tariffs imposed on such exports by a foreign country in response to U.S. tariffs imposed on the imports of that country. Such decrease must have contributed importantly to a decline in sales or production. And wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Rep. Bradley Scott Schneider (IL) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.

Winning Option »» I support providing adjustment assistance to firms that have experienced a decrease in the export of the firm's articles or services as a result of tariffs imposed on such exports by a foreign country in response to U.S. tariffs imposed on the imports of that country. Such decrease must have contributed importantly to a decline in sales or production. And wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Rep. Bradley Scott Schneider (IL) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.