Industry Groups Ask That All Tariffs Be Lifted With China Deal

Americans for Free Trade -- along with 150 national and regional trade groups -- sent a letter to the White House April 22 saying that all tariffs should end with a China trade deal, and that the enforcement of that deal should "avoid any enforcement mechanism that would trigger future tariffs and result in long-term economic uncertainty." The letter also said that the exclusion process for Section 301 imports should continue, even if those tariffs end at the signing of the agreement. The groups, which include the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, said, "American businesses and farmers bearing the burden of the trade war have been told repeatedly by your Administration that they must endure 'short-term pain for long-term gain.' They were promised that tariffs were merely a means to an end, and that all this damage would be worth it. A deal that fails to lift tariffs would represent a broken promise to these hardworking Americans. "