[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 6, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H1381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TRADE AND TARIFFS

  (Mr. LaHOOD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, last week I was invited to the White House 
to meet with President Trump and his advisers to discuss trade and the 
renegotiation of NAFTA. My district is the eighth largest agriculture 
district in the country. For districts like mine, free trade is crucial 
to ensuring that there are new markets for our farmers and 
manufacturing to sell their products and goods. That is why I urged the 
President to maintain and strengthen our existing trade agreements, 
including NAFTA, not withdraw or create new barriers to free trade.
  The American economy is currently booming, thanks to once-in-a-
lifetime tax reform, with disposable income seeing its highest jump 
since 2015. We should be working to build upon this success, not 
instituting protectionist tariffs that could start a trade war. In the 
end, the cost of tariffs are passed on to consumers and act like a new 
form of taxation, which could undo much of the gains we have seen since 
tax reform.
  I urge the President and his team to reconsider the blanket tariffs 
discussed last week, and instead focus on fighting specific unfair 
trade practices that put American businesses at a disadvantage.

                          ____________________