Statement on Tariffs - Colorado Business Leaders for NAFTA

 
 

STATEMENT ON TARIFFS

Colorado Business Leaders for NAFTA

April 2018

The Colorado Business Leaders for NAFTA (CBL4NAFTA) strongly encourage President Donald J. Trump, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and other Administration officials to extend the steel and aluminum exemptions placed on our neighbors and NAFTA partners, Canada and Mexico, and make them permanent.

The U.S. Administration is not wrong that bad faith actors have sought to undermine U.S. metals manufacturing, dumping their product into our markets at unfair rates to drive competitors out of business. However, Canada and Mexico have not been bad actors. Indeed, U.S. domestic manufacturing markets are deeply entwined with those of our North American partners. For example: American steelworkers share the same union representation with their Canadian counterparts, and the majority of steel firms have long-established cross-border operations that employ thousands. Moreover, thanks to rigorous monitoring about which products may enter their borders, neither Canada nor Mexico may be used as a “back door” for illegally dumped materials to enter into the United States.

Our markets need to be made secure, and our North American allies are a part of the solution.

CBL4NAFTA condemns any attempt by the Administration or other influencers to use tariffs as a leveraging tool in NAFTA renegotiations, as has been speculated in the media. These two issues are separate. Neither Canada nor Mexico presents a national security threat – as defined under Section 232 – to the United States. Indeed, as a NORAD and NATO partner, Canada would be considered America’s strongest and most loyal ally, having stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the U.S. in every major conflict since World War One.

CBL4NAFTA supports any effort that will bring jobs and economic prosperity to American workers. It is our belief that a unified and outward-facing North American bloc is the best way to ensure the prosperity for our people, our businesses, and our communities – in Colorado and across the continent – both now and into the future.

The United States should be clear in word and deed: America First does not mean America Alone. Our NAFTA partners are our allies as we look to make the global marketplace a more fair and robust system where industry can compete. Making these tariff exemptions permanent would be a clear signal to the world that the United States remains open for business.

Colorado Business Leaders for NAFTA

Karen Gerwitz, Co-Chair                                                        Jeff Wasden, Co-Chair

World Trade Center Denver                                                   Colorado Business Roundtable