The U.S. Chamber of Commerce pleaded with President Trump on Thursday to grant tariff relief to small businesses and help “stave off a recession.”
The chamber, a massive lobby for businesses, said it appreciated efforts to reduce trade barriers and expand export markets. But it said smaller firms could suffer “irreparable harm” while awaiting trade deals with other nations.
“While we are hopeful these agreements can be reached quickly, we are deeply concerned that even if it only takes weeks or months to reach agreements, many small businesses will suffer irreparable harm,” Chamber CEO Suzanne Clark wrote. “The chamber is hearing from small business owners every day who are seeing their ability to survive endangered by the recent increase in tariff rates.”
The letter was addressed to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The chamber is the latest entity to seek carve-outs from Mr. Trump’s sweeping tariffs plans as the White House pledges to be flexible in how it recalibrates trade.
Mr. Trump granted an exclusion from Chinese tariffs on certain electronics, a move viewed as a win for Apple, and he granted limited relief to automakers who said they needed time to source car parts from within the U.S. as a 25% tariff on foreign parts starts to bite.
General Motors told investors on Thursday that, even with the relief, its tariff exposure could cost the company $4 billion to $5 billion this year.
“We look forward to maintaining our strong dialogue with the administration on trade and other policies as they continue to evolve,” GM CEO Mary Barra wrote in a letter to shareholders. “As you know, there are ongoing discussions with key trade partners that may also have an impact. We will continue to be nimble and disciplined and update you as we know more.”
Ms. Barra told CNN she doesn’t expect to pass along the tariff costs to consumers.
“Pricing is going to stay at about the same level as it is,” she said. “Pricing changes in our industry at least monthly, and sometimes more frequently. We’re going to respond to the market.”
Mr. Trump says his tariffs, a tax on foreign goods brought into the U.S., will force companies to set up shop in the U.S. and rebalance trade in favor of American workers.
Besides cars, he imposed a 10% tariff on all imports and heftier levies on countries that sell plenty of products to U.S. consumers but don’t buy nearly as much from American producers.
Those larger tariffs were put on hold for 90 days to allow for negotiations, and China and the U.S. are locked in a trade war, with both sides imposing tariffs exceeding 100%.
The chamber said small businesses that rely on exports for their business model need exclusions from the tariffs immediately.
Ms. Clark suggested three routes to relief:
• An exclusion for any small-business importer, since they “do not have the margin or capital reserves to sustain the increased tariffs, nor do they have the ability to quickly modify supply chains.”
• Automatic exclusions on products that cannot easily be sourced in the U.S., such as coffee, bananas, cocoa, certain minerals and custom-made industrial materials that U.S. manufacturers need.
• A process that lets businesses apply for an exemption in cases in which tariffs would pose “significant risks” to employment. The chamber said 40 million American jobs depend on trade.
Too many exclusions to the tariffs, however, could water down the economic basis for Mr. Trump’s plan — leverage to decrease foreign trade barriers and spur U.S.-based manufacturing.
They could also be viewed as a form of political patronage if too many companies come, hat in hand, looking for exclusions.
The White House says it needs time to implement its economic agenda, including massive tax cuts from Congress, and that Americans will like the results.
Ms. Clark said the chamber shares Mr. Trump’s “goals of expanding American production, creating new jobs and growing our economy.”
“To those ends, we look forward to continuing to work with the administration to advance pro-growth policies, including a permanent extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, deregulation, permitting reform and expansion of American energy production,” she said.
Also Thursday, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said the added tariff revenue would help pay for the GOP’s tax-relief plan.
He said Mr. Trump’s economic plan was producing results in the form of cheaper energy and declining rates of inflation, and that disruption caused by digging in against Beijing would be worth the payoff.
“The reality is we can either surrender economically to China or we can reclaim and reshore our manufacturing base and manufacturing needs,” Mr. Miller said at the White House press briefing.
Wall Street markets were up to kick off May trading, boosted by tech-company stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 83 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also closed up, by 0.6% and 1.5% respectively.
The White House said the “Trump effect” is also paying dividends for American workers.
It pointed to German car giant Mercedes-Benz’s decision to bring the production of a core segment vehicle to a plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, by 2027.
“We are getting even closer to the U.S. customer by localizing a core segment model in Tuscaloosa, strengthening our ties to the North American market where a range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, including the GLE and GLS models, have their roots,” said Jason Hoff, CEO of Mercedes-Benz North America.
Mercedes did not mention Mr. Trump’s tariffs in the announcement, but the context was hard to ignore.
Mr. Trump is heaping pressure on foreign automakers to make their vehicles in America, saying it’s the only way to avoid taxation under his tariff framework.
The White House pointed to Japanese automakers that recently shifted more production to the U.S., and carmakers that plan to add shifts at American plants, dubbing it the “Trump effect.”
“We’re going to have growth in the auto industry like nobody’s ever seen,” Mr. Trump said in a joint address to Congress this year.
Implementing the plan is complicated, given the interwoven nature of car manufacturing that requires parts to be sent across borders, notably among factories in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.