When the Trump administration imposed tariffs on various imports in 2018, the stated purpose was to boost U.S. industries and punish foreign exporters. But rather than hurting foreign exporters, the economic evidence shows it is American firms and consumers hardest hit by the Trump tariffs. The tariffs resulted in higher prices for a wide variety […]
Boosting American industry is a policy objective shared by many lawmakers and is a key issue at debate in the Build Back Better Act as well as other year-end legislation. Missing from the debates is how the tariffs put in place by the Trump administration, and largely maintained by the Biden administration, are negatively affecting […]
Of the many tax policies modeled in our new Options for Reforming America’s Tax Code 2.0, repealing the tariffs imposed under President Trump’s administration would be one of the simplest ways policymakers could boost economic growth. Starting in 2018, the U.S. imposed tariffs on a variety of goods, including aluminum, solar panels, steel, and washers […]
Today, the United States puts into effect new 25 percent tariffs on $1.3 billion in French products. This comes as a response to France commencing collection of its digital services tax (DST) at the end of 2020. The tariffs will target several French cosmetics, handbags, and assorted soaps. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said that […]
One of President Donald Trump’s signature policy actions has been to engage in a tit-for-tat tariff war with America’s trading partners, and one of the big questions is what President-elect Joe Biden will do about that. First, a brief review of where things stand. Relying on rarely used sections of trade law, President Trump used […]
The Republican National Convention is underway this week and President Trump’s campaign released a second term agenda outlining his policy vision in broad strokes. While light on detail, the agenda includes a few tax policy items like expanding existing tax breaks, creating credits for specific industries and activities, and unspecified tax cuts for individuals. The […]
Today the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced new tariffs in response to the French digital services tax. The tariffs of 25 percent on $1.3 billion worth of trade would not go into effect until January 6, 2021. The tariffs would apply to several make-up products, handbags, and assorted soaps. In January, the U.S. and France […]
The following comments were submitted to the Office of the United States Trade Representative regarding docket number USTR-2019-0009. Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the Section 301 Investigation. These comments summarize the discriminatory nature of Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) which arise from their design. These comments also provide some details on the policies […]