[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 25, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5366-S5369]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. JONES (for himself, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Graham, and Mr. 
        Corker):
  S. 3266. A bill to require a study of the well-being of the United 
States automotive industry and to stay the investigation into the 
national security effects of automotive imports until the study is 
completed, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of the line workers 
at our Alabama auto plants. I rise on behalf of our soybean and cotton 
farmers. I rise on behalf of countless other Alabama businesses that 
have contacted me because they feel threatened by proposed tariffs but 
are afraid to speak out publicly for fear of reprisal. In some cases 
they simply don't want to be seen as inflicting political damage on the 
President.
  I came to this body to work on solutions, not to raise partisan 
threat levels. I am not one to unfairly level criticism at the 
President of the United States, but I have called it as I see it when 
his actions hurt our economy and my State, in particular, and I will 
continue to do so.
  Today, I want to talk about his proposed tariffs on our allies and 
our trading partners. These actions have prompted retaliatory tariffs 
on countless Alabama goods, including cotton and soybeans. American 
industries overwhelmingly oppose these tariffs or, really, they are 
taxes on their products.
  I share President Trump's desire to see continued growth in our 
manufacturing sector and to secure trade deals that benefit our 
country. His tariffs are not leading to more manufacturing jobs in 
Alabama. Instead, they have manufactured a crisis that threatens to 
permanently harm our businesses and our farms. This is a self-inflicted 
wound.
  I am well aware that China has been a rogue actor when it comes to 
trade, and I support a strong response. Alabama's steel industry, for 
example, was hurt by the illegal dumping of Chinese steel into the 
global market. I witnessed it firsthand in my hometown of Fairfield, 
AL, once home to one of the country's largest U.S. steel facilities, 
which now sits virtually idle. Globe Metallurgical in Selma has been 
hit by the dumping of silicon metal from China. China has time and 
again shown a blatant disregard for American intellectual property 
rights. I have spoken out against these abuses and will continue to do 
so when they occur in the future.
  We should not sweep our friends with the same brush with which we 
sweep China. Antagonizing allies like Canada, South Korea, and Germany 
for no reason at all only weakens us. According to the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce, more than half a million Alabama jobs are supported by global 
trade, meaning more than one in every four Alabama jobs are tied to 
trade. Those jobs are needlessly at risk to date.
  I have spoken with representatives from industries across my State. 
Some are already hurting from the tariffs; others are OK for the moment 
but are fearful of consequences down the road, such as losing suppliers 
or taking a direct hit from retaliatory tariffs.
  Many of these workers or business owners tell me they support 
President Trump. They want him to do well. They voted for him, and they 
are hesitant to speak out because they don't want to appear to be 
disloyal or harm him politically. They are confused as to why the 
President is taking steps that hurt their businesses and put their jobs 
at risk. They want help.
  They say what we in this body already know: Tariffs are nothing more 
than tax increases. They are taxes that hurt American businesses, 
American workers, American consumers, and the American economy. In a 
cruel twist, they seem to be doing the most damage in the places and 
sectors that make up the President's base of support: farmers, 
autoworkers, truck drivers. These are the exact folks he promised to 
take care of. Nowhere is that more prevalent and evident than in our 
automotive industry. It is not just really an ``industry'' as we think 
of it in abstract terms. It means people, jobs, families, and the 
ability to support a family.
  One of those people is a man named John Hall. John has been a 
maintenance worker at the Hyundai Motor manufacturing plant in 
Montgomery, AL, for nearly 14 years. He recently came to Washington to 
tell folks about what the industry has meant to his community.
  At a rally last Thursday, he said that the transformation of 
Montgomery and the Alabama River Region has been breathtaking--
breathtaking--since the Hyundai plant arrived in our State. He went on 
that day to testify at the Commerce Department at a hearing about 
whether or not imported automobiles, trucks, and parts posed a national 
security threat.
  That bears repeating. These tariffs on automobiles--foreign 
automobiles and parts--are being proposed because somehow, some way 
foreign vehicles and parts are a threat to national security.

[[Page S5367]]

  I don't know how else to say it, but that is a ridiculous premise, 
and everyone knows it. Even the President implicitly acknowledged that 
in one of his Twitter rants the other day when he threatened to raise 
auto tariffs in response to the antitrust fine levied against Google by 
the European Union. Not only is it not a national security threat, this 
industry has brought untold opportunity to Alabama and other States, 
particularly in the Southeast.
  Before the automakers came to Alabama, our manufacturing industry was 
still reeling from NAFTA. Many Alabama facilities, like textile 
manufacturers, were closing down and moving to other countries. These 
automakers came to Alabama--Mercedes, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota's engine 
factory, which is now a Toyota and Mazda automobile factory, breaking 
ground soon, and they have breathed new life into our economy. They 
have all announced planned expansions in the last year or so.
  Alabama's automotive sector employs some 50,000 people, and motor 
vehicle exports from Alabama reached $11 billion in 2017. Simply put, 
Alabama is a trade State, an exporting State. It is not just cars, 
either. We export about $170 million annually in soybeans to China, and 
that industry contributes 11,000 jobs to our State.
  The day China released its list of U.S. goods that could be tariffed, 
soybean prices fell 40 cents that morning. Stan Usery, the president of 
the Alabama Soybean & Corn Association and soybean farmer, said:

       If you weighed that out in dollar figures, it was in the 
     billions of what the value of the U.S. soybean crop lost in 
     just that one day. Just based on the fear of an imposed 
     tariff.

  I have heard from other farmers too. Peanut contract prices have 
fallen flat. Pork prices have fallen $18 a head since March. Cotton 
prices dropped 10 cents in the wake of the initial round of tariffs. 
Our cattle farmers share these concerns and are anticipating potential 
production cost increases as a result of more expensive fuel and grain.
  Just yesterday, we learned that the administration is going to spend 
$12 billion in taxpayer money to help offset the damage its trade war 
has done to American farmers. These farmers need the money. It is a 
self-inflicted wound, but they need it. This money might help some of 
the farmers somewhat in the short term, but it is a slippery slope for 
the President of the United States to start down.
  What about the meatpackers who see less work because of reduced sales 
or truckdrivers who transport these goods across the country? These 
folks want trade, not aid. If tariffs are not reversed soon, the damage 
to supply chains and markets cannot be undone.
  A company like Harley-Davidson can move a plant from Wisconsin 
overseas to avoid tariffs. My farmers in Alabama can't do that. You 
can't move a soybean farm. You can't move a cotton field. You can only 
move plants, hardware, and people.
  China is one of the top markets for Alabama's cotton, poultry, pork, 
and soybeans. When China chooses to source these goods from Brazil, 
Australia, or Vietnam to avoid the President's tariffs, they will not 
go back to purchasing from Alabama once common sense prevails and the 
tariffs are rescinded. By then, it will be too late. A market will be 
lost, and family farms cannot recover from the loss of a business.
  I know some folks back home in Alabama don't like it when the 
President gets criticized. They certainly don't like it when I do, and 
I understand that. They don't like it even when the policies of the 
administration may hurt Alabama.
  One of my own delegation colleagues in the House went so far as to 
suggest that we shouldn't be worried about these automobile tariffs; we 
are all getting worked up over nothing. I like to think he is right, 
but I don't think he is, and neither do the thousands of folks who work 
in Alabama's automobile industry or their family members who have 
written or called my offices, nor do the industry representatives they 
have sent to Washington to plead with their elected officials for help, 
nor does my good friend, the senior Senator from Tennessee, with whom I 
am proud to be standing here today.
  I believe these tariffs are bad for Alabama and bad for America.
  Senator Alexander, who is a strong supporter of the President on many 
issues, agrees that these tariffs represent a very real threat to the 
hundreds of thousands of jobs in the automotive industry. No region in 
the country would be hit harder than the Southeast, where textiles used 
to be king but where automobiles now reign supreme.
  That is why I am here today, to stand up for my constituents and to 
do what I think is right. It is why, last month, Senator Alexander and 
I wrote to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, urging him to reconsider the 
auto tariff tax proposal before it damages the automotive sector, which 
contributes more than 200,000 jobs to our two States. It is why I have 
reached out to the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade 
Representatives on behalf of a number of Alabama businesses, from 
textiles to heating and air conditioning companies, to businesses in 
the energy sector, each facing their own unique crisis because of the 
proposed tariffs.
  In fact, since I was sworn in, I have invited representatives from a 
number of impacted industries to come to my office to share their 
stores, to offer suggestions on what we can do, and to be honest about 
outcomes if we fail to act.
  I did not come to this body to simply sit by and watch and do 
nothing, especially when I see a need and I need to step up. I said I 
would follow my conscience and do the right thing to make Alabama and 
America a better place. In that spirit, a short time earlier today, 
Senator Alexander and I followed up on our letter to Secretary Ross--to 
which, quite frankly, we have not yet received a response--by 
introducing the Automotive Jobs Act of 2018. It is a bipartisan effort 
to halt President Trump's proposed tax on imported cars, trucks, and 
auto parts, which would raise the price of every automobile produced in 
the United States.
  Our legislation would require the International Trade Commission to 
conduct a comprehensive study of the well-being, health, and vitality 
of the U.S. automotive industry. The ITC will be required to deliver 
the report to Congress before these tariffs could be applied.
  Tariffs should be used to protect American jobs, not hurt them. In 
the coming weeks, I will be looking at other legislative solutions to 
help other sectors impacted by the President's tariffs, but the 
President can save our auto industry today by simply calling off the 
232 investigation.
  If we are not vigilant, hard-working Alabamians are going to be the 
losers in this game of chicken with China, the European Union, and 
others. The small family farmers, the line workers at our auto plants, 
the truckdrivers who transport Alabama-made products to market, and our 
port, all stand to lose the gains that we have made in the last couple 
of decades.
  It is my hope that through this legislation we can demonstrate beyond 
any doubt the positive benefits the auto industry brings to Alabama, 
Tennessee, and many other States across the country.
  Instead of pursuing these tariffs, we should be partnering with our 
allies who have also been treated unfairly by countries like China and 
present a united front against bad actors and their harmful trade 
practices.
  I believe in the great potential of our Nation's automobile industry, 
and I want to empower both the American and foreign automakers who have 
already invested significantly in this country. This is a thriving 
industry and one supported by the greatest workforce in the world. 
Let's help it to continue to grow and support good-paying jobs in our 
communities. We need to stand united against these proposed tariffs.
  President Trump, Alabamians are counting on you to do the right thing 
by those who stood with you. I hope you will do so.
  I yield for my friend, the senior Senator from Tennessee, Mr. 
Alexander.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Alabama for 
his leadership and his remarks.
  The President of the United States has got the world's attention with 
his tariffs. He met today with the President of the European 
Commission, but what should get more attention than

[[Page S5368]]

the tariffs is President Trump's solution for the tariffs: zero 
tariffs, zero barriers--which, as the President said at the G7 summit 
in June, is the way it should be. He said that again last night and 
again today. After his meeting with the President of the European 
Commission in the Oval Office, President Trump said: ``If we could have 
no tariffs and no barriers and no subsidies, the United States would be 
extremely pleased.''
  Well, so would I, Mr. President, but that is not what is happening. 
Piling tariffs on top of tariffs with no end in sight is a trade war 
and will hurt American workers.
  But the basis of the President's long-term solution is 
``reciprocity,'' a word he has also used many times, which means, when 
it comes to trade, other countries should do for the United States what 
the United States does for them. Taking steps in the direction of 
reciprocity, rather than a trade war, would be much better for the 
American worker.
  Today I have come to the floor with Senator Jones to introduce 
legislation that would delay the administration's proposed 25 percent 
tariff on automobiles and auto parts imported from other countries into 
the United States until the President has the benefit of a second 
opinion from the International Trade Commission about the effects those 
tariffs would have on the more than 7 million Americans who work in the 
auto industry.
  After the President and the Congress have received the International 
Trade Commission's study and the President has this second opinion, he 
may still continue with the section 232 investigation if he chooses to 
do so.
  I have no doubt that there is a trade problem, and some countries are 
taking advantage of us. I also have no doubt that shooting yourself in 
both feet at once is not the right solution to our problem, which is 
what would happen if we continue these tariffs for a long time. That is 
not the best way to solve the problem.
  These tariffs are dangerous. These tariffs are going to cost us jobs. 
These tariffs are going to lower our family incomes. These tariffs are 
going to undo much of the good the President and the Congress have done 
during the last year and a half to create this booming economy, which 
is booming like none of us have seen for a long, long time. We don't 
want to interrupt that.
  A better strategy is the one that the President himself has suggested 
and that I believe would be much more effective: Insist on reciprocity. 
Say to other countries: Do for our country what we do for you--just as 
the President said at the G7 summit: ``no tariffs, no barriers is the 
way it should be.'' And just as he said today to the President of the 
European Commission.
  May I suggest a first step in that direction? It might be to agree on 
the same tariffs on light trucks and cars that are traded between the 
United States and the European Union. Currently, the European Union 
levies a 10-percent tariff on light trucks that come from the United 
States, and the United States levies a 25-percent tariff on trucks 
imported from the European Union. Similarly, the European Union levies 
a 10-percent tariff on cars imported from this country. The United 
States levies a 2.5 percent tariff on cars that come to us from Europe. 
A first step for the solution would be to make these tariffs the same.
  Now, my late friend Alex Haley once told me that if I begin a speech 
by saying ``instead of making a speech, let me tell you a story,'' 
someone might actually listen to what I have to say. So let me tell you 
a story about how tariffs affect Tennessee.
  This is a story about a Canadian company, Onward Manufacturing 
Company, which 8 years ago had a choice between locating its new plant 
either in the United States or in China. The company chose Dickson, TN, 
where today about 300 Tennesseans have good-paying jobs making Broil 
King gas grills, which the company then exports to Canada and Europe.
  The company decided on Tennessee instead of China because NAFTA--the 
North American Free Trade Agreement--made it possible to buy materials 
and parts to manufacture their grills in the United States and Canada 
without paying tariffs. That is the advantage of zero tariffs.
  Broil King buys the steel and aluminum the company uses to make 
grills from U.S. producers. But in 2016, our country imposed tariffs on 
steel from China that is used to manufacture grills. That increased the 
cost of imported steel, and that had the effect of increasing the price 
of steel made in the United States.
  Then, on March 23 of this year, our country imposed another 25 
percent tariff on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, after the Commerce 
Department's section 232 investigation concluded that those imports 
were a threat to national security. This also had the effect of raising 
the price of steel and aluminum that Broil King used to make gas grills 
in Dickson, TN. Prices for U.S.-produced steel that Broil King buys are 
up by 40 percent since January, according to the trade publication 
Steel Benchmark.
  This is called shooting yourself in one foot. Now, here goes the 
other foot.
  Europe and Canada then responded to the U.S. tariffs on steel and 
aluminum by imposing tariffs on U.S. products sold in Europe and 
Canada, including gas grills.
  Broil King exports about 60 percent of the grills the company makes 
in Tennessee to Canada and Europe. Remember, they located their plant 
here so they could do that.
  The company told me last week that they are losing money on every 
grill they sell in Europe because of the combination of steel and 
aluminum tariffs and the response by Europe and Canada.
  Broil King is also hurt by the March 2018 announcement that tariffs 
would be imposed on $50 billion by the United States on Chinese goods 
because the company buys some parts from China that it uses to make gas 
grills in Tennessee.
  Now, here is what is causing the owners of Broil King to wonder why 
they ever decided to locate a plant in Dickson, TN, instead of China. 
The new U.S. tariffs do not apply to barbecue gas grills made in China 
that are already assembled, which means that every one of Broil King's 
competitors in China can import their grills into the United States 
without any tariff on it.
  So here is the bottom line. These new tariffs make it difficult to 
make a profit on gas grills made in Dickson, TN, and leave the U.S. 
market wide open for gas grills made in China.
  That is what happened to one small company that employs 300 
Tennesseans and buys its steel and aluminum from U.S. suppliers when we 
begin piling tariffs on top of tariffs with no end in sight. That is 
what happens with a trade war.
  That is why I like what the President said this morning to the 
President of the European Commission. ``If we could have no tariffs and 
no barriers and no subsidies,'' the President said, ``the United States 
would be extremely pleased.'' So would workers in Tennessee. That would 
be better for the 300 workers in Dickson, TN.
  Here is another story. It is about Electrolux. I visited Springfield, 
TN, outside Nashville, a few weeks ago. The mayor and the chamber of 
commerce officials rushed up to me. The new tariffs on steel had been 
announced, and the largest employer in Springfield--Electrolux, which 
makes home supplies--had cancelled a $250 million expansion. Electrolux 
buys all of its steel from U.S. suppliers, but, of course, when you 
raise the price on imported steel, the price of U.S. steel also goes 
up, and Electrolux concluded that it could not be competitive in the 
U.S. market and with exports at the higher price.
  Of course, it sounds good to say that putting a 10-percent tariff on 
Chinese-made goods is good for us, but Electrolux also buys some 
components made in China. Last week, the company said the latest U.S. 
tariffs on Chinese-made goods would cost the company $10 million during 
the second half of this year if the proposed 10 percent tariffs go into 
effect after a comment period ending in late August. That is Electrolux 
in Springfield, TN.
  Now, if we were moving toward a policy of reciprocity--do for us what 
we do for you--there would be zero tariffs, and the people of 
Springfield would have a $250 million expansion and the jobs that come 
with it instead of a 25-percent tax on the U.S. steel that Electrolux 
buys.
  Then there are the stories about the effects of steel and aluminum 
tariffs on

[[Page S5369]]

tire companies. We have three big tire companies in Tennessee. 
Bridgestone is one of them, with 1,700 employees. I will talk about it 
for just a moment.
  Bridgestone tires all have steel cords to make them stronger. None of 
that steel is produced in the United States. All of it is imported. Now 
all of it has a 25-percent tax. Who pays that? The American consumer. 
The same must be true for every tire-making company.
  Here is one more story. You have probably heard of Bush Brothers' 
beans. They can one-third of all the beans in the United States. Their 
plant is in Chestnut Hill, in the mountains of East Tennessee, near 
where I live.
  The cans are made of tin-plated steel that is mostly imported. There 
is not enough produced in the United States. Bush Brothers & Company 
estimates that the new tariff on steel will reduce its revenues and 
raise prices by as much as 8 percent.
  Even the workers in Chestnut Hill who can one-third of all of the 
beans in the United States would benefit from a zero tariff policy such 
as the one the President talked about today, instead of a trade war 
that piles tariffs on top of tariffs.
  We have many more stories. We have over 900 auto parts suppliers in 
Tennessee. They are in 88 of our 95 counties. Almost all of them use 
steel and aluminum. When the prices go up, revenues and profits go 
down. That has an effect on 136,000 Tennesseans. Those are the people 
who work in our automotive industry. That is one-third of our entire 
manufacturing workforce.
  Tariffs are taxes, pure and simple--taxes we pay. Existing tariffs on 
steel and aluminum are bad enough, but nothing could do more damage to 
Tennessee's auto industry than the proposed tariffs on imported 
automobiles and automotive parts. Those, combined with already imposed 
tariffs on steel and aluminum, will cost us jobs and lower our family 
incomes.
  I respectfully said to President Trump both publicly and privately 
that he and the Republican Congress have accomplished an enormous 
amount in 18 months. I am very proud of that. This booming economy is 
something that benefits so many Americans. But I am afraid that if we 
do not move quickly toward the President's announced long-term goal of 
no tariffs and that if we continue to pile tariffs on top of tariffs, 
we will take this economy in exactly the opposite direction and undo 
much of the good the Republican President and the Republican Congress 
have already done.
  What would take us in the right direction is the goal of reciprocity 
that the President talked about today. That is why, in the meantime, 
until we shift gears into this long-term goal of no tariffs, no 
subsidies, no barriers, and take steps toward it, Senator Jones and I 
have developed this bill to make sure the President has all the facts 
before he makes a decision on the proposed 25-percent tariff on 
imported cars and parts. It simply requires the Commerce Department's 
investigation to be delayed while we get more facts about the impact of 
these tariffs on the automotive industry.
  The President is right to focus on China. China steals our 
intellectual property, and it imposes other trade barriers. But tariffs 
on steel and aluminum and uncertainty surrounding the negotiation of 
NAFTA threaten to destroy many more U.S. jobs than they might save.
  We should remember the lessons of history. Presidents have tried this 
before.
  When I first came to the Senate, President George W. Bush imposed 
steel tariffs. Within a year, he dropped the idea because the tariffs 
destroyed more jobs in the automotive industry than existed in the 
steel industry at that time, according to the Consuming Industries 
Trade Action Coalition.
  Let's look at today. Last year, the U.S. steel industry employed 
about 139,000 Americans, according to the Congressional Research 
Service. About 162,000 worked in the aluminum industry. That is around 
300,000 Americans who work in the steel and aluminum industry. To put 
this in perspective, the automotive industry employs 20 times that many 
Americans--more than 7 million, according to the Auto Alliance, and 
136,000 of those, as I have said, are Tennesseans.
  There are only eight aluminum smelting plants operating in the United 
States that employ Americans. They employ about 4,000. Seven of those 
are actually producing. One is curtailed. Alcoa, which produces about 
half the aluminum produced in the United States, doesn't even want the 
tariffs. It makes me wonder, who does want the tariffs on aluminum?
  The main reason those smelting plants--one of which is in my hometown 
and my father worked at for 40 years--have closed has nothing to do 
with trade. It is because aluminum plants need a lot of cheap 
electricity to run through the bauxite ore to make aluminum ingots, and 
they can't buy electricity that cheap in the United States. The 10-
percent tariff already imposed on aluminum is not nearly enough to 
offset the cost of electricity.
  The reason I have been so outspoken about this is that no state is 
more likely to be more damaged by tariffs on aluminum and steel and on 
automobiles and auto parts than Tennessee. In many ways, over the last 
40 years, we have become the Nation's No. 1 auto State, with our more 
than 136,000 Tennesseans working in the automotive industry. There are 
three big assembly plants--General Motors, Volkswagen, and Nissan--and 
over 900 auto suppliers in 88 of our 95 counties. As Senator Jones 
said, 35 years ago, we were the third poorest state and textile plants 
were moving overseas. Things looked bleak for us. In came the auto 
industry with better paying jobs, and our family incomes have been 
going up ever since in almost every county. I don't want to see that 
hurt. Tennesseans who work in the auto industry would benefit, as they 
have under NAFTA, from zero tariffs instead of a trade war that piles 
tariffs on top of tariffs.
  In conclusion, the President has gotten the world's attention with 
his tariffs. As a tactic, perhaps he is wise to do that. He had the 
President of the European Commission in his office today, but what 
should get more attention and what I hope gets more attention also from 
the President is the solution he talked about again today. ``If we 
could have no tariffs and no barriers and no subsidies,'' the President 
said, ``the United States would be extremely pleased.'' That is the way 
it should be. Let's move toward that goal as rapidly as we can. Piling 
tariffs on top of tariffs with no end in sight is a trade war. It hurts 
American workers.
  The basis of the President's solution is reciprocity--a word he has 
used many times--which means when it comes to trade, other countries 
should do for the United States what we do for them. Taking steps in 
that direction would be the right way to go.
  In the meantime, the bill Senator Jones and I have introduced will 
make certain that President Trump has before him all the facts--in 
effect, a second opinion--before he makes a decision regarding the 
proposed 25-percent tariffs on imported automobiles and automotive 
parts.
                                 ______