Commerce Secretary Says Biden Hesitating on Section 301 Tariffs Over Jobs Concerns

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo acknowledged that lifting Section 301 tariffs is one of the few levers the White House has to lower inflation right now, but implied that President Joe Biden is hesitating because unions are arguing it would hurt workers.

The AFL-CIO has even opposed reopening a broad Section 301 exclusion process, and the United Steelworkers just testified in front of the International Trade Commission last week that tariffs under both Section 232 and Section 301 are allowing union factories to maintain or even expand employment.

Raimondo, who was interviewed on CBS' "Face the Nation" on July 24, said the president is still thinking about what to do about the China tariffs, as it's a big decision.

"There are potential labor implications. One thing about this president is he will never do anything that he thinks will hurt workers in America and/or hurt union workers in America. And so he's being appropriately deliberative to make sure that, yes, he wants to reduce inflation, and he wants to make it easier for consumers. But he wants to be certain that when we do it, or if we do it, it won't have any impact on American workers," she said.