In a statement Wednesday, Myron Brilliant, the head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said tariff relief “would provide some welcome breathing room for American businesses and consumers.”
“Liquidity has emerged as one of the top challenges for businesses of all sizes, and tariff relief” would alleviate some of that strain, he said.
Glenn Hubbard, an economist at Columbia University, said removing the tariffs could be critical to helping the U.S. economy recover more quickly once the virus subsides, by giving business leaders confidence to ramp up investment.
“It would be good if the president stood down on the trade wars,” Mr. Hubbard said. “If I was sitting in a C.E.O.’s chair and Covid-19 was receding, if you wanted my confidence and investment back, I think you would want to convey business certainty.”
Some lawmakers have echoed the arguments. In a bipartisan letter on March 26, eight leading lawmakers urged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to defer all tariffs for at least 90 days to help ensure businesses have enough liquidity to weather the crisis.
But longstanding opposition to removing the tariffs has also grown. Groups that supported Mr. Trump’s levies from the beginning have insisted that any removal would be ruinous for industries like steel that depend on the protection.
“We appreciate President Trump’s statement yesterday that he is NOT planning on deferring the collection tariffs,” the Coalition for a Prosperous America, which has supported the tariffs, said in a statement Wednesday.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/business/economy/trump-tariffs-coronavirus.html
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