The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups are considering ways to challenge the new tariffs on goods imported from Mexico.
The powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which advocates for cheap labor policies and opposes American First trade initiatives, told reporters Friday that it is considering all options, including legal challenges, to thwart the Trump administration’s policy.
“We have no choice but to pursue every option available to push back,” Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said Friday.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will impose a 5 percent tariff on goods imported from Mexico if the Mexican government does not stem the flow of illegal immigrants from Central America.
Chamber of Commerce President and chief executive Tom Donahue told the Washington Post in April that the U.S. needed more legal immigration because the country is “out of people.” The chamber has pushed for legal protection for so-called “Dreamers” and led political resistance to efforts to deport more illegal border crossers.
The chamber began 2019 by opposing legislation that would have allowed President Donald Trump to impose reciprocal tariffs on specific foreign imports.
“The bill would effectively give the President unilateral authority to increase U.S. tariffs on imports from any foreign country,” Bradley wrote in a letter sent to many lawmakers on Capitol Hill. “The harm to Americans would be immediate: Tariffs are taxes, and they are paid by American families and American businesses.”
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