Trump Took ‘Authority’ He Lacks ‘Under the Law’ to Impose Tariffs, Says Shapiro
With the U.S. “on the cusp” of Trade Act Section 301 tariffs rising Jan. 1 to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, President Donald Trump took “authority that he does not have under the law” when he ordered the Sept. 24 imposition of retaliatory duties (see 1809180020), CTA President Gary Shapiro told the American Legislative Exchange Council’s States & Nation Policy Summit in a keynote Thursday. Speaking to an audience of mainly conservative state legislators, Shapiro stopped well short of threatening a CTA court challenge to block the Trump administration from putting the higher tariffs into effect, though CTA frequently has blasted the duties as "taxes" that run "afoul" of the 1974 Trade Act (see 1809070032).
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The tariffs are "stupid," and will hurt “thousands” of American tech companies, but also “our farmers and others, as China is retaliating,” said Shapiro. “I travel around the world. I talk to government leaders. This is just not a China-U.S. issue. Every developed country in the world is concerned about this tariff war, which can not only lead us into a recession, but potentially a depression.”
By imposing the tariffs, the administration is ”going against” the American “brand of freedom” in trade and the “welcoming in” of foreign trade partners, said Shapiro. He conceded China “is not a fair player, by the way.” CTA has “a business venture there,” and “it is very difficult,” he said of the annual CES Asia show in Shanghai, without elaborating on the difficulty. “But raising tariffs, in our view, is not the way” to curb China’s bad trade behavior, he said.
China ranks very low on CTA’s global "innovation scorecard" because it lacks “freedoms and liberties,” as well as clean air and water, said Shapiro. “What does that have to do with innovation? Well, you can’t live and think if you’re dying, as most people are. The No. 1 cause of death in China is lung cancer because the air is so terrible.” Shapiro frequently visits China, he said. “We have an event there. I’m sure I’ll be arrested someday.”
Shapiro refrained from again expressing the hope, as he did at CES Unveiled New York, that Trump’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G-20 summit in Argentina this weekend will result in a breakthrough to avert the 25 percent tariffs from taking effect (see 1811090029). Computer & Communications Industry Association CEO Ed Black echoed that hope when he said in a statement Thursday that the G-20 “face to face meeting is an opportunity to de-escalate tensions with our various allies and trading partners.”
American companies “are getting caught in the crossfire” of the "escalating" tariffs with China, and are facing “increasingly common digital trade barriers,” said Black. With tariffs scheduled to rise Jan. 1, timing of the G-20 is “critical” for a de-escalation of the trade war, he said. “This summit is an opportunity for leaders to discuss a wide range of global problems and solutions -- and we hope U.S. officials use it.”