Club for Growth Leads Efforts with Conservative Groups to Oppose Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum

Club for Growth and a dozen other groups, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers, sent the following letter to President Donald Trump on Friday, December 6th:

President Donald J. Trump The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

Mr. President:

Tariffs are taxes that hurt U.S. consumers and key pillars of our economy, including manufacturing and agriculture. Tariffs slow economic productivity and decrease the impact of the many other successes within your economic agenda, like tax cuts and deregulation. The undersigned groups, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers, are concerned by your announced intention to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum from Brazil and Argentina.

Tariffs also create a competitive disadvantage for U.S. job manufacturers that use raw steel to make products used in construction, highways, bridges, appliances, machinery, containers, energy, and so many more areas of the economy. When U.S. businesses compete in the international marketplace, a competitor that can make a more cost-effective product has the advantage. While the previous round of tariffs on steel and aluminum increased profits for some U.S. steel mills, these profits came at the expense of downstream users who require affordably priced metal from the domestic and international markets. Moreover, U.S. manufacturers were at a competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace against China and Europe. Ultimately, steel tariffs cost U.S. farmers, workers, and families more than $11 billion.

U.S. businesses seek certainty, and the imposition of tariffs creates a malaise among job creators that causes them to sit on the sidelines waiting for a clearer picture before reinvesting and expanding their operations. Free markets are a better solution than costly tariffs.

Finally, Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act requires justification of national security threats, but Brazil and Argentina do not pose a national security threat to the United States; they are allies and should not be targets of a trade war.

The following groups respectfully urge you to not impose additional tariffs on steel and aluminum from Brazil and Argentina.