AFP: Uncertainty Caused by Trade Escalation Undercuts American Businesses, Economic Growth

Sep 18, 2018 by AFP

ARLINGTON, Va. – Following the Trump administration’s announcement that the U.S. will implement additional tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese products, AFP President Tim Phillips issued the following statement urging the elimination of tariffs and trade barriers:

“The continued escalation of this trade war is wreaking havoc on the wellbeing of American businesses and workers. In this time of economic growth, job creators should be planning for the future, not guarding themselves from uncertainty ahead. Each tit-for-tat tariff increase leaves another business owner poring over balance sheets, another farmer faced with crops he or she can’t sell, and another family wondering how to afford necessities like clothing or produce. This administration has done so much to spur economic growth, but those gains will be lost if the escalation of trade barriers continues.”

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

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