(The Center Square) – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobbying group in the country, urged President Donald Trump to change course on trade after slapping 25% tariffs on top U.S. trading partners.
The chamber “urged reconsideration of, and a swift end to, the 25% tariffs set to go into effect on most goods from Canada and Mexico under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.”
The business organization said Trump’s trade policies could push up prices for American consumers. Voter frustration with inflation and high prices helped bring Trump back to the White House for a second term.
“American families and businesses are struggling with high costs. It’s one of the top issues that they want policymakers to address,” said Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Tariffs will only raise prices and increase the economic pain being felt by everyday Americans across the country. We urge reconsideration of this policy and a swift end to these tariffs.”
Bradley said the group supports Trump’s goals of reducing regulations, securing the border and stopping drug trafficking, but disagreed with Trump’s method.
The chamber highlighted immediate affects of the tariffs. Traci Tapani, co-president of Wyoming Machine, said the tariffs will hurt the Minnesota sheet metal fabricator, which relies on aluminum, much of which is imported from Canada.
“My company will feel an immediate, detrimental impact as a result of these tariffs,” Tapani said. “The threats and uncertainty have made it hard to make business decisions, and these kinds of tariffs will make it extremely difficult for small businesses like mine to grow.”
Ashli Watts, president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, said tariffs will hurt businesses throughout the state.
“New tariffs on Canada and Mexico will put unnecessary pressure on Kentucky businesses and families,” she said. “As a state that thrives on trade, we know firsthand how these policies disrupt supply chains, increase costs, and threaten jobs.”
Watts said the state knows firsthand what damage can be done.
“We’ve seen it before – when Kentucky’s bourbon industry was hit by retaliatory tariffs, it lost nearly $600 million in exports,” she said. “These policies have real consequences. We urge policymakers to support free enterprise and trade policies that allow Kentucky businesses to compete and grow. Our economy depends on it.”
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, governs trade between the U.S. and its northern and southern neighbors. It went into force on July 1, 2020, and Trump signed the deal. That agreement continued to allow for duty-free trading between the three countries.
U.S. goods and services trade with USMCA totaled an estimated $1.8 trillion in 2022. Exports were $789.7 billion and imports were $974.3 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with USMCA was $184.6 billion in 2022, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
