Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) encouraged Democrats to change their views on tariffs, saying collection is “always bad” as President Trump did good things with the tariff threat of his campaign this week.
“Fellow Democrats, the party needs to rethink all anti-functional absolutism. I'm a Rust Belt Democrat in Western Swinsey, Pennsylvania. Poor trade deals like NAFTA stripped us for parts,” Delugio wrote in a statement Friday. Social Platform x.
“Democrats need to be freed from the hordes of neoliberal economists who think tariffs are always bad,” he added.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration enacted previously delayed tariffs in Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, imposing a 25% collection on all imports from both countries. However, the president quickly reversed the course and signed some exemptions and additional suspensions.
Analysts warn of the dangers of Trump's tariff policy, including rising consumer prices and rising inflation. However, the president argues that temporary pain is worth the final outcome.
In Opeda in the New York Times on Friday, Delfio outlined how, in his view, tariffs benefit working-class voters, how Democrats are trying to regain support after past election cycles.
“Mr. Trump's tariff approach is confusing and inconsistent. There is no doubt about that. But the answer is not to condemn tariffs across the board,” he wrote.
“It puts Democrats at risk of not getting any more contact with the hardworking people who once were the lifeblood of the party – people like my constituents,” he continued.
Many Democrats have called on the president to withdraw tariffs, calling the move “unproductive.”
“The happiness of American workers, families and businesses should never be gambled to earn political points,” wrote a group of nearly 12 Democrats last month.
Delugio on Friday proposed that the party “hugging” as an industrial strategy to “invigorate” American manufacturing, citing the absence of its own products, outsourced from China and Vietnam.
“Taxes are one of several tools that can break this cycle. They force them to increase domestic consumption of what they produce because they can no longer throw it away in the US,” he wrote.
He touted the inflation reduction laws, chips and science, acting as a pathway to increasing American manufacturing, while also urging President Trump to reevaluate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
“If Trump sets his mind about them, he should not only attack Mexico with tariffs, but also amend the contract he signed with Mexico to force him to agree to a stronger labour enforcement, to pay the costs of pollution in Mexico, and stop Chinese companies from using it to gain tax-free access to the US.
“Western Pennsylvanians know how important it is to get this right,” he continued.
Deluzio encouraged Democrats to lean towards Trump's thinking about economic benefits through tariffs without delay in order to regain voter attention.
“For the past decade, Trump has used the legitimate anger of voters over bad trade transactions, but his administration is too undisciplined to save the bailouts Americans need,” he writes. “That's why Democrats must fight hard for smart tariffs and other trade policies that provide good paying jobs and restore American manufacturing leadership.”
