Deputy Commerce Nominee Hears Earful on Tariffs
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz told commerce deputy secretary nominee Paul Dabbar that, as "an experienced dealmaker," he hopes Dabbar will help to secure "freer and fairer trade with our allies, not across-the-board protectionism" -- and to also argue for that approach.
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.
Cruz warned at the nomination hearing on May 1 that there are two paths the administration could take. One would be to use reciprocal tariffs and Section 232 as leverage to get trading partners to lower their barriers. The second would be to lock higher tariffs "in place indefinitely."
If the latter is the result, Cruz said, the tariffs "would function as a de facto tax increase on small businesses and the middle class."
Committee ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the president's tariff actions are one of "a series of alarming decisions and actions that are damaging economic growth."
She said she'd rather have Dabbar leading tariff policy than Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
"I can tell you this, tariffs are hurting small businesses today," she said. "People may not be in business by the time these deals are done."
Dabbar allowed no light to come between him and the president on tariffs, saying they are useful to reindustrialize the U.S., lower trade barriers abroad, to protect national security, and to raise revenues.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., referred to a local Minnesota entrepreneur, Busy Baby, which sells high-chair place mats, tethers and teething tools. The mats are made in China, but the imports support design, quality control, IP, social media and shipping jobs in Minnesota, Illinois, Delaware and Utah, the company's FAQs explain.
Klobuchar said Apple's Tim Cook can go to the White House and get a meeting, but "Busy Baby, she can't get in there."
"I can't tell you how concerned I am about tariffs," Klobuchar said.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., told Dabbar that there has been tariff-free trade in airplanes and aerospace parts since 1979, and he asked Dabbar to make sure that continues. He noted that aerospace is "one of the bright spots in our export markets."
Dabbar agreed that the U.S. has comparative advantages in agriculture, defense equipment manufacturing and aerospace manufacturing.
Several Republicans on the committee offered full-throated support for higher tariffs, in the hopes of restoring manufacturing jobs that went to lower-cost countries.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said a tariff wall for China isn't enough to restore manufacturing if "we could make cheap goods in some other country."
Dabbar agreed.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said it no longer makes sense to offer more generous market access than is reciprocated by Europe. "After the Cold War ended, there wasn't an adjustment on ... economic policy," he said.
Schmitt said it's "about time" a president "stood up for working folks left behind by this globalist dream that borders don't matter."
He said it's time to rebalance the trade relationships with allies, "and that's exactly what's happening now."