New tariffs on steel, aluminum, and Chinese imports, as well as the potential for additional tariffs on autos and auto parts, threaten to spark a global trade war. 

Simply put, tariffs are a tax on American consumers and businesses. Tariffs are the wrong approach to address unfair trade practices.

See the state-by-state impacts of this emerging trade war.

• The Benefits of International Trade
• International Policy
• International Affairs Division

Issues Briefs & Related Topics

• Secure congressional approval of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA) to retain the benefits of free trade within North America and establish high-standard trade rules while opposing moves to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) without a successor agreement in place.
• Advocate for the termination of U.S. tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum, and a wide range of goods from China—and threatened against imports of autos and auto parts—as taxes on American families and businesses that undermine U.S. competitiveness without achieving their intended policy goals.
• Support negotiations to address China’s theft of intellectual property, forced technology transfer practices, and other unfair trade and industrial policies.
• Support the negotiation of ambitious, comprehensive trade agreements with Japan, the EU, and the UK that hew closely to the negotiating objectives established in the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (known as Trade Promotion Authority).
• Represent U.S. business interests in the Brexit negotiations to maintain strong EU-UK trade and investment ties.
• Secure reauthorization of the U.S. Export-Import Bank before its charter lapses on September 30 in order to counter the aggressive trade finance operations of other countries’ export credit agencies.
• Ensure that the implementing regulations for the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA) keep the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) focused specifically on legitimate national security concerns associated with inbound investment.
• Advocate for a balanced approach in implementing regulations for the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 that protects national security without unduly hindering legitimate commerce.
• Win congressional approval of permanent normal trade relations with Kazakhstan and its graduation from Jackson-Vanik.
• Support full funding of the federal international affairs budget to advance U.S. economic interests, national security, and humanitarian values.
• Work to secure ratification of treaties for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income with Hungary, Poland, and Chile and protocols amending existing conventions with Switzerland, Luxembourg, Spain, and Japan.