On Friday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. French Hill (R-AR) said that it is right to push for better American access to foreign markets, but “you should target sectors in a very isolated way and achieve results” and doing it that way “gives some certainty. When you use an across-the-board approach, you get that uncertainty that my constituents are reflecting.”
Hill said, “President Trump’s right to engage in trade diplomacy, but I believe, sincerely, that you should target sectors in a very isolated way and achieve results and do the same thing in reciprocity with countries you think are bad actors that are not open to American products. And then, finally, as it relates to Canada and Mexico, I really think the President should advance the negotiations on the USMCA reauthorization of that treaty, that trade arrangement, and let’s make some changes. Let’s make sure that Chinese component parts are not dumped into Mexico or Canada and go into the supply chain.”
Later, co-host Joe Mathieu asked, “[W]hen you hear companies say, why are we being unfairly targeted, all we have done is play by the rules? We came out of China, we went to Mexico, we went to Vietnam. Now we’re being penalized for that. Aren’t they correct in making that point?”
Hill answered, “I think it speaks to the uncertainty nature of this. I hear it from my own constituents at home who are manufacturers who make something, but some of the component parts in what they make [come] from outside the U.S. They’re concerned about the cost, will their product be competitive. And the same is true for Arkansas, a big agricultural state, much of what we produce goes to Canada or Mexico. So, these are important issues, and that’s why I think the strategy has to be right. Using trade diplomacy to open new markets, using trade diplomacy to lower rates in certain product categories, … for example, and using trade diplomacy to punish bad actors. Those are all important elements of it, and I think that gives some certainty. When you use an across-the-board approach, you get that uncertainty that my constituents are reflecting. So, I hope we can work on clarifying that in the weeks ahead.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
