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In a new letter to the Trump administration, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned that small businesses need automatic exclusion from tariffs that could undermine their ability to survive.
The Chamber of Commerce on Thursday communicated concerns about its ability to handle the financial hits of small businesses and its ability to call on small businesses to be removed from tariffs.
The letter said the Chamber of Commerce and its members “awe appreciate the efforts to negotiate bilateral agreements with other countries to achieve zero reciprocity on tariffs and reduce barriers to non-interest in trade,” saying such transactions would boost US exports and support more jobs and higher wages.
“We hope to be able to reach these contracts quickly, but we are deeply concerned that many small businesses will suffer irreparable damages, even if it only takes weeks or months to reach the agreement. The Chamber of Commerce hears from small business owners who see their ability to survive at risk by the recent rise in tariff charges.
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Small and medium-sized businesses may lack the financial ability to pay tariffs on imports needed to survive as viable companies, the Chamber of Commerce warned. (Getty Images/Mark Felix via Getty Images/Bloomberg)
The Chamber of Commerce has called on the Trump administration to “take immediate action to save American small businesses and take away the recession.”
The first of them is the automatic exclusion of small and medium-sized business importers, as they argue that they “have no margin or capital reserves to maintain tariff increases, and they also have the ability to quickly revise the supply chain.”
The second lawsuit requested by the Chamber of Commerce is an automatic tariff exclusion for products that cannot be procured in the United States or readily available from domestic sources. These items currently exposed to customs duties include coffee, bananas, cocoa and certain minerals, but this requirement also applies to “many other bespoke industrial inputs important to American manufacturers.”
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President Suzanne Clark, CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce, has written a letter to President Donald Trump's ministers. (Getty Images/David Kawai via Getty Images/Bloomberg)
The third tariff policy request is the process of companies “quickly obtaining exclusions in situations where tariffs can be shown to pose a significant risk to U.S. employment, as applicable.” The letter noted that over 40 million American jobs rely on trade, and it is “essential” to protect and grow those jobs to promote economic growth and prosperity.
Suzanne Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “At the same time, we've heard from a historic number of small businesses that made it clear. They need to save tariffs immediately.”
“As each day goes by, small businesses are increasingly at risk for supply chain disruptions that cause higher costs and irreparable harm,” she said. “We commend the administration's efforts to negotiate as many new trade agreements as possible to expand market access for US companies and benefit American workers, but these transactions take time and many companies simply can't afford to wait while negotiations progress.”
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Stephen Miller, policy director for the White House Deputy Chiefs of Staff, said small business tariff relief will come in the form of a predicted tax cut package from Congress. (Getty Images/Getty Images via Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg)
Stephen Miller, deputy director of the White House deputy chief of staff, was asked about the Chamber of Commerce letter during a press conference Thursday, saying that the relief for small businesses comes from a tax cut package that the Trump administration and Republicans in the Congress are trying to move forward.
“Small business relief will come in the form of the biggest tax cut in American history,” Miller replied, adding that the package cost 100% to invest in the US and criticised Democrats for opposing the bill.
“This will be the smallest business tax bill in American history. At the same time, this is something you have to understand about the plan. They are reshowing those supply chains so they can do that, so that means they don't even pay the tariffs.
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In a follow-up question, Miller was asked whether his responses meant that small businesses do not have short-term tariff relief.
“That's yes about tax easing for small businesses. And again, you only pay customs duties on products made outside the US,” Miller said.
