The United States Chamber of Commerce is attacking President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs while lobbying lawmakers to negotiate more free trade deals despite the economic devastation that such deals have delivered to the nation’s working- and middle-classes.
This week, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on foreign imports — a move that ends the decades-long free trade consensus in Washington, DC, that cost Americans millions of manufacturing jobs while hollowing out working- and middle-class communities.
“Foreign nations will finally be asked to pay for the privilege of access to our market — the biggest market in the world,” Trump said in the Rose Garden.
In response, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents the largest multinational corporations in the country, attacked the tariffs and published a statement with free trade talking points.
“What we have heard from business of all sizes, across all industries, from around the country is that these broad tariffs are a tax increase that will raise prices for American consumers and hurt the economy,” the Chamber’s Neil Bradley said in a statement.
Bradley continued:
We urge policymakers to instead focus efforts on accelerating the pro-growth agenda of extending our current tax policy, re-balancing regulations, and unleashing the full potential of American energy — all policies that will grow the economy and create more opportunities for Americans. In addition, the U.S. should begin negotiating new trade agreements to open up more markets for businesses and workers which will support more American jobs and lower prices. [Emphasis added]
The Chamber, which sought to work closely with former President Joe Biden’s administration, laid out their agenda in 2023 which included unlimited levels of immigration to the U.S. along with more economic globalization and free trade deals.
Thanks to exploding trade deficits as a result of U.S. free trade deals with various countries, including China, more than five million manufacturing jobs were eliminated from the American economy from 1998 to 2021.
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John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at