Fifteen economists who served as former chairs of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers under George W. Bush and Barack Obama’s administrations, including former Federal Reserve chairs Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke, wrote a joint, bipartisan letter to the president today in opposition to potential tariffs or other limits on steel imports resulting from the ongoing Section 232 investigation.
According to the letter, protectionist measures would end up damaging the economy and harming relations with close allies.
“The United States already has over 150 countervailing and antidumping duties on steel imports, including some as high as 266 percent,” the letter said. “We import steel from over 110 countries and territories, but the top source countries are important allies like Canada, Brazil, South Korea, and Mexico. Additional tariffs would likely do harm to our relations with these friendly nations; officials from Canada, United Kingdom, the European Union, Germany, and the Netherlands have already voiced concern.
The diplomatic costs might be worth it, the letter said, if the tariffs generated economic benefits. “But they would not,” the letter said. “Additional steel tariffs would actually damage the US economy. Tariffs would raise costs for manufacturers, reduce employment in manufacturing, and increase prices for consumers.”
The letter concluded by urging the president to “avoid a policy that would likely incur greater economic and diplomatic costs than any conceivable national security gain.”