Washington, D.C. — Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) president Dennis Slater issued the following statement in support of the Trade Security Act introduced by U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.). The legislation will reform Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to better align the statute with its original intent as a powerful trade remedy tool for the president and Congress to respond to genuine threats to national security.

“Tariffs have caused considerable damage to equipment manufactures across this country and have undermined the industry’s competitiveness in the global economy,” said Dennis Slater, president of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. “In particular, the use of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum has significantly raised the production costs for equipment manufacturer and resulted in harmful retaliatory tariffs by trading partners. Section 232 is intended to be used solely to combat real national security threats—not as an excuse to raise blanket tariffs on other countries. Preventing the misuse of Section 232 tariffs as a blunt negotiating tactic is crucial to both our national and economic security. The Association of Equipment Manufacturers applauds Senators Portman, Feinstein, Ernst, Sinema, Fischer, Wicker, and Young for reintroducing this thoughtful and vital legislation and for their ongoing efforts to rein in a president’s ability to misuse Section 232.”

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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 supports 2.8 million jobs in the U.S. Equipment manufacturers also contribute $288 billion a year to the U.S. economy.