[Text/Observer Network Wang Yi] According to a May 1 report by CNBC, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the Trump administration the day before urging it to immediately establish a "tariff exemption mechanism" to prevent the U.S. economy from falling into recession and causing "irreparable harm" to small businesses. However, the White House rejected their request.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce represents over 3 million businesses and organizations across the United States and is one of the largest and most influential business organizations in the world. In the letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Beets, Commerce Secretary Howard Rutnik, and Trade Representative Greer, the Chamber expressed that considering the negative impact of recent tariffs on the U.S. economy, employers, and American families, quickly and successfully completing negotiations with trading partners to revoke the tariffs imposed this year is crucial.
The Chamber requested the U.S. government to "take immediate action" to save small businesses and avoid an economic recession in the U.S.
On April 30 local time, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote to the main trade officials of the Trump administration.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Clark said on May 1 that "over time, small businesses are increasingly threatened by rising costs and supply chain disruptions, which will cause irreparable damage," and negotiations take time, "many businesses simply cannot wait for the negotiations to proceed." Therefore, the Chamber requested the Trump administration in the letter to immediately take action and automatically exempt all small importers from tariffs to avoid an economic recession.
The letter also proposed that the U.S. government should provide tariff exemptions for coffee, bananas, cocoa, certain minerals, and other industrial raw materials that "cannot be produced in the U.S." and are difficult to find in the U.S. Clark pointed out that "the reality is that some things simply cannot be produced in the U.S.," and tariffs will only increase the prices of these products and raw materials, harming American families who struggle to pay their bills.
In addition to these two conditions, the Chamber also requested the Trump administration to establish a formal procedure to allow companies that can prove that tariffs pose a risk to jobs to apply for exemptions.
Clark told CNBC that they wrote to the main trade officials of the Trump administration because "we have been flooded with information and relief requests from small businesses," and these small businesses are very concerned about their survival issues.
Data from global freight forwarder Flexport shows that since Trump initiated the tariff war, the volume of sea freight container orders from China to the U.S. has fallen by more than 60%. U.S. importers have suspended or canceled shipments to avoid paying new tariffs. As Sino-U.S. trade has sharply declined, small and medium-sized enterprises in the U.S. have become the main victims of Trump's tariff policies, facing supply disruptions, cost increases, shrinking profits, and worrying prospects for survival.
Rachel Garcia (Rachel Garcia), owner of a grocery store selling sustainable products in New Jersey, told the Hong Kong South China Morning Post that the prospect of new tariffs is "terrible." Many of the sustainable products in her store rely on materials such as bamboo, which "clearly come from China," and the U.S. does not mass-produce them. Now, with sudden tariffs, "we don't have enough time to plan ahead for the next six months."
Jocelyn Gailliot, who sells women's clothing on e-commerce platforms, said that as frontline retailers, she feels that tariffs are affecting various aspects of the macroeconomy. Her company has a large presence in China and is looking for new alternative factories, but what worries her most are much smaller brands, "they may not have enough room or ability to act flexibly and may need to take a break for a few quarters."
Gailliot warned that there would soon be obvious problems of "supply chain disruptions" and "customs backlog."
Some U.S. small businesses have taken legal measures to pressure the Trump administration to suspend the imposition of tariffs. On April 14, the Freedom Justice Center, a non-profit, non-partisan litigation institution, filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. government on behalf of five small businesses. These U.S. companies believe that the U.S. trade deficit with goods has existed for decades and neither constitutes an "emergency" nor an "extraordinary threat." The Trump administration has no authority to invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to implement so-called "reciprocal tariffs."
Although the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also believes that the Trump administration has engaged in "overreach" and "micromanagement," Clark said the Chamber did not choose to challenge Trump in court because "in this situation, court proceedings take too long."
Clark said, "What small businesses need, and what all businesses need, is more direct relief."
However, the White House rejected the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's request for immediate tariff relief during a press conference on May 1. Reuters reported that Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House responsible for policy, told reporters when asked about this request that relief for small businesses would be implemented through the largest tax cut package in U.S. history.
Miller did not directly answer whether this meant rejecting short-term tariff relief for small businesses, only adding that "this amounts to approval for tax cuts for small businesses," and noted that "businesses investing in America will receive tax cuts."
Trump and congressional Republicans are seeking to pass legislation to extend a tax reform bill proposed by Trump in 2017, which is set to expire at the end of this year, further reducing taxes for U.S. manufacturers and replacing federal corporate income tax with tariffs. But Democrats worry that extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 will expand the U.S. fiscal deficit and cause government debt to "explode."
Reuters pointed out that Republicans have a slim majority of 220 to 213 in the House of Representatives and a majority in the Senate, but if they want to pass this bill before July 4, they must secure support from some Democratic lawmakers in both houses of Congress.
This article is an exclusive contribution by Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7499692582002164259/
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