Washington, DC,
19
June
2018
|
16:58 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

AEM: TRUMP TRADE WAR WITH CHINA A GUT PUNCH TO U.S. MANUFACTURING WORKERS

Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) President Dennis Slater issued the following statement expressing disappointment for the Trump Administration’s new threat to impose another $200 billion in additional tariffs on imports from China: 

“This is not only harmful, but inherently unfair to the hardworking men and women of our industry. The American equipment manufacturing worker, the American farmer, and the U.S. economy all lose as a result of the administration’s reckless and never-ending tariffs. Our industry supports 1.3 million jobs and contributes roughly $159 billion a year to the U.S. economy but much of that could go away if this tit-for-tat trade dispute continues. We again call on the Trump administration to deescalate this unnecessary and costly trade war.”

The Trump administration put $50 billion in tariffs on goods from China in place this past Friday through Section 301 of the Trade Expansions Act of 1974, which included many different types of construction and agricultural equipment. China responded by issuing $50 billion of its own tariffs on U.S. goods, which includes agricultural commodities. Given depressed U.S. farm incomes, these moves are expected to disproportionately hurt America’s rural economy.

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AEM is the North American-based international trade group representing off-road equipment manufacturers and suppliers, with more than 1,000 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture and construction-related industry sectors worldwide. The equipment manufacturing industry in the United States supports 1.3 million jobs and contributes roughly $159 billion to the economy every year.