Exclusive: Dozens of congressional Democrats urge president to reconsider threatened import duties on US’s two largest trading partners
www.theguardian.com
In a letter to Trump seen by the Guardian,
Democrats noted that the US imports key construction materials worth billions of dollars – from lumber to cement products – from Canada and Mexico each year.
“Given the severe housing shortage, compounded by rising construction costs, persistent supply chain disruptions, and an estimated shortfall of 6m homes, these looming tariffs, while intended to protect domestic industries, risk further exacerbating the housing supply and affordability crisis while stifling the development of new housing,” they wrote.
In a statement, the White House claimed Trump would use tariffs to “usher in a new era of growth and prosperity” for the US.
Trump has
repeatedly vowed to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, a move he has said will spur his country’s neighbors to work harder to reduce the number of immigrants crossing into the US, and stem the flow of fentanyl.
The proposed duties are sweeping, however – hitting all imports from both countries – raising concerns that they could raise prices throughout the US economy. Trump pulled back from the brink earlier this month following 11th-hour talks with Claudia Sheinbaum of
Mexico and Justin Trudeau of Canada.
US officials are in talks with both countries ahead of the new deadline, 4 March, when tariffs are now due to be enforced.
More than 40 Democrats in the House of Representatives, led by Jim Costa of California, urged the White House to consider housebuilding industry
estimates that the proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, paired with duties already charged on Chinese goods, will raise the cost of imported construction materials by up to $4bn.
