CPA cautions against adopting a reciprocal tariff strategy aimed primarily at negotiating lower foreign trade barriers and more favorable investment conditions abroad. A reciprocal tariff strategy that prioritizes foreign governments’ willingness to reduce their trade barriers or be more receptive to foreign investment is in conflict with the stated goals of the America First Trade Policy Memorandum and undermines the predictability and stability American businesses need to confidently invest in long-term domestic production.
While the bill’s title suggests a crackdown on the unfolding de minimis catastrophe, in reality it would handcuff CBP’s ability to do anything about it.
For Mr. Lutnick to lead the tariff and trade agenda in the next Administration, he will need an aligned Treasury Secretary to executive critical policies on customs revenue generation, customs valuation, and de minimis.
When George Washington was President, consensus existed that tariffs should be used for both (1) federal revenue purposes, and also (2) to protect domestic production. This consensus was embodied in the first sentence of the first U.S. Tariff Act, passed on July 4, 1789.
Two hundred years ago, on March 30 and 31, 1824, Henry Clay, then Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, delivered arguably the most consequential economic speech in Congressional history.
The Tax Foundation bills itself as the “world’s leading nonpartisan tax policy nonprofit”, but they do not understand the basic concepts of how tariffs work — or even what they are.
The de minimis catastrophe is getting attention on Capitol Hill, thanks to legislative champions on both sides of the aisle in Congress, and the advocacy of the The Coalition to Close the De Minimis Loophole (of which CPA is a member).
