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Rep. French Hill: Tariffs done right don't have to hurt Americans

President Trump has a big agenda on trade policy. He wants more markets open for American goods and services, and he wants more fair and reciprocal trade both in Asia and in Europe. He also wants to update and modernize our 1992 North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. The NAFTA negotiations continue and, while slow, they have been encouraging.

Trump's efforts to reset trade relations with China are proving to be challenging. This is no surprise. China has been a very difficult trading partner since the 1990s. Obviously, it is an important and large market for American goods and services, but the Chinese have a track record of stealing American and European intellectual property, blocking the import of certain American goods and services with high tariffs or difficult non-tariff barriers.

Further, they are notorious subsidizers and over-producers in steel and aluminum. China's overcapacity and dumping of steel and aluminum products on the world market has hurt both American and European steel and aluminum manufacturers.

Trump has imposed across-the-board steel and aluminum tariffs for national security reasons under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Act. I opposed using these across-the-board tariffs on steel and aluminum on all products from all countries because I believe it will be damaging to U.S. manufacturers, including those here in Arkansas. This is why my colleagues and I have encouraged Trump to reconsider this steel and aluminum tariff strategy and better target the approach, gaining support from our allies in Europe, and selectively target the steel and aluminum tariffs directly at China.

Tariffs didn't have a lasting impact when President George W. Bush implemented them on steel in 2002 or when President Barack Obama imposed them on tires in 2009.

 Also, recently, President Trump imposed tariffs on China due to their lack of compromise and improvement on protecting American intellectual property in China. China has retaliated with tariffs on American goods, principally on our agriculture products. In my home state of Arkansas, pork and soybeans are among the hardest hit.

In a Financial Services Committee hearing last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testified. I told him that our manufacturing businesses and our agricultural interests in Arkansas are already suffering because of the use of tariffs and the retaliatory tariffs in turn.

In Article I, the Constitution clearly assigns as an enumerated power regulating commerce between foreign nations to the Congress. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress as well as in the executive branch for an approach to trade policy that will produce President Trump's desired results of fair and reciprocal trade. But our country should focus the effort in such a way that American industry and consumers are not unnecessarily hurt by high taxes and consumer prices.