Domestic Textile, Auto, Petroleum Industries Oppose Tariffs on Canada, Mexico
The National Council of Textile Organizations, joined by its Canadian and Mexican counterparts, urged President Donald Trump not to impose 25% tariffs on imports in the region.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
“All three of our countries are partners in a vital textile and apparel coproduction chain that generates $20 billion in two-way trade and helps support over 1.6 million jobs under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) -- a trade deal that was negotiated during President Trump’s first term in office," the groups said. They noted that 53% of U.S. textile exports go to Mexico and Canada, which return as finished products.
“Imposing penalty tariffs on imports from critical U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) partners will only serve to benefit China and other Asian countries that don’t play by the rules and to harm the U.S. textile industry and manufacturers in our Western Hemisphere supply chains," NCTO CEO Kim Glas wrote.
The Mexican trade group, Canaintex, noted that one-third of pants sold in the U.S. were made in Mexico, and that it's the sixth-largest source of apparel imports to the U.S.
Textiles are a relatively small portion of North American trade -- by value, the top traded sectors are autos and auto parts, oil and gas, and electronics.
The American Petroleum Institute, the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents Detroit's Big Three, and Autos Drive America, which represents all the foreign auto brands that have assembly plants in the U.S. other than Stellantis, didn't issue statements on Feb. 27, after Trump's declaration that tariffs are coming next week.
However, on Feb. 1, the API criticized the idea of putting tariffs on our neighbors. (Trump eventually said Canadian oil and gas would face a 10% rather than a 25% tariff, but he repeatedly says the U.S. doesn't need Canadian oil).
"Energy markets are highly integrated, and free and fair trade across our borders is critical for delivering affordable, reliable energy to U.S. consumers," the group wrote then.
"The U.S. is by far the world's largest oil producer, but U.S. refineries -- primarily in the Midwest -- rely on Canadian crude to produce the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel that's critical for transportation, agriculture and American consumers. The U.S. is the largest market for Canadian crude oil exports and Mexico is the No. 1 destination for U.S. refined product exports. "
In January, the American Automotive Policy Council, like NCTO, tried to appeal to Trump's sense of pride in the USMCA as his deal.
"If these tariffs are imposed, all vehicles and parts that comply with current USMCA trade agreement rules should be exempt, as they meet the strict standards originally negotiated by President Trump to support jobs and investment in the United States," the group said.