President Biden has announced a new round of tariffs on imports from China under the guise of Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The Biden Administration is justifying this under bogus "national security" concerns, which are completely irrelevant to the actions being taken today.
NTU's Free Trade Initiative Director Bryan Riley issued the following statement on today's tariffs:
Two months ago the White House promised “no one earning less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny in federal taxes.” How soon they forget.
At a time when Americans are worried about high prices, increasing tariffs on goods they need is remarkably tone-deaf. There is near-universal agreement that Section 301 tariffs failed to achieve their goals while costing U.S. taxpayers the equivalent of $1,700 per household and sparking Chinese retaliation against U.S. farmers and other exporters. It is asinine for the Biden administration to double down on this failed policy. This action provides new evidence that the administration’s trade policy is incoherent and destructive.
A 2022 National Taxpayers Union Issue Brief provided additional details on why the Biden administration should not extend costly and ineffective Section 301 tariffs. As the study notes, “Although Section 301 tariffs are often misleadingly called ‘China tariffs’ for short, the tariffs are in fact taxes on Americans who import goods from China.”
To discuss today’s announcement with Bryan Riley or for more information on President Biden’s new round of tariffs and the ways in which his trade policy has made everyday household purchases more expensive for Americans, contact NTU Vice President of Communications Kevin Glass at 703-299-8670 or at kglass@ntu.org.