AFP Cautions Against Doubling Down on Harmful Trade Policy

Aug 1, 2018 by AFP

Arlington, Va. – Americans for Prosperity urged the Trump administration today to abandon reported plans to significantly increase tariffs of 10 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent. Escalating tariffs in this manner would spark further retaliation, fueling the trade war that continues to play out on the world stage.

AFP President Tim Phillips issued the following statement:

“Doubling-down on a protectionist trade policy will have a chilling effect on the strong economy President Trump’s policies helped create. Powerful trade is free and open trade, not protectionism. Ratcheting up trade barriers harms the families, workers, and businesses this administration has spent the better part of two years trying to help. We should strive for our shared goal of zero tariffs and subsidies, not the acceleration of a trade war that will leave Americans worse off.”

Americans for Prosperity Trade Principles:

Individuals, businesses, and countries should be free to engage in the voluntary exchange of goods and services, which improves lives by growing the economy, increasing pay checks, and creating new and better jobs.
Individuals and businesses in a competitive market, not government bureaucrats or politicians, should guide trade decisions.
Punitive measures such as tariffs and quotas harm most consumers, workers, and businesses and should be eliminated.
Subsidies and other forms of government supports for powerful and politically connected businesses and industries do not create value. They punish consumers, insulate businesses from market competition, and should be eliminated.
Trade disputes should be resolved through existing international trade agreements and organizations.
While national security interests may be a consideration in trade policy, they should be used to restrict trade only when there is truly a narrow national security interest at stake, not as a work around to impose tariffs.

For further information or to set up an interview, please send an email to GBraud@afphq.org.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) exists to recruit, educate, and mobilize citizens in support of the policies and goals of a free society at the local, state, and federal level, helping every American live their dream – especially the least fortunate. AFP has more than 3.2 million activists across the nation, a local infrastructure that includes 36 state chapters, and has received financial support from more than 100,000 Americans in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org

###