U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Doug Jones (D-AL) reintroduced Tuesday the Automotive Jobs Act that aims to delay President Donald Trump’s proposed 25-percent tariff on imported auto parts and vehicles.
The bill would require the International Trade Commission (ITC) conduct a comprehensive study on the well-being, health, and vitality of the U.S. automotive industry before any tariffs could be imposed.
Trump directed the U.S. Commerce Department last May to determine whether imported auto parts and vehicles pose a threat to national security. The department’s report will be completed next month.
“I know well that there is a need to address the bad actors like China who’ve taken advantage of us on trade and I share the president’s goal of reviving our domestic manufacturing industry,” Jones said. “However, that should be done in a way that doesn’t hurt other major job-creating industries and increase costs for American consumers. By having a deeper look at the state of the auto industry, an ITC study would shed light on the impacts that tariffs would have and would make it undeniably clear to the president that this industry is not a national security threat.”
The auto industry supports 57,000 jobs in Alabama and 7 million jobs in Tennessee.