Doug Jones Introduces Legislation To Delay Auto Tariffs

WASHINGTON, DC - Alabama Senator Doug Jones is co-sponsoring a bill with Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander that aims at delaying tariffs that could hurt the automobile industry and therefore pose a threat to Alabama's economy.

The bill, the Automotive Jobs Act of 2018, is a bipartisan bill to delay President Donald Trump’s recently proposed 25-percent tariff on imported cars, trucks, and auto parts. At Trump’s direction, the U.S. Commerce Department initiated a Section 232 investigation in May to determine whether imported automobiles, trucks, and parts are a threat to U.S. national security and to subsequently levy tariffs.

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The senators’ legislation requires the International Trade Commission (ITC) to conduct a comprehensive study of the well-being, health, and vitality of the United States automotive industry before tariffs could be applied.

Related story: Doug Jones: Auto Tariffs Threaten Alabama Jobs

“These tariffs are a tax on American consumers and they’re going to cost Alabama jobs,” Jones said. “I share the president’s goal to reinvigorate manufacturing and secure trade deals that benefit our country, but not at the expense of one of Alabama’s biggest job creators. This bipartisan legislation will hold the Administration accountable by ensuring it has all of the facts about the positive impact American automakers have on their communities, regardless of where they’re headquartered. With that information in hand, the Administration could no longer make the ridiculous claim that this industry is somehow a national security threat.”

Since the tariff proposal was made public, Jones has consistently spoken out against it to protect the tens of thousands of Alabama workers who rely on this industry to support their families. In June, Jones and Alexander sent a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to urge him to reconsider the tariff, pointing to the damage it would do to their respective states' economies

"I'm old enough to remember what it was like before auto companies came into Alabama during the 1990s, starting with Mercedes," Jones said. "At the time Mercedes came, many of Alabama's manufacturing facilities were closing down, moving to other countries. But one by one – from Mercedes to Honda to Hyundai and now Toyota and Mazda, who are breaking ground on a new plant very soon –these automakers came to Alabama and breathed new life into our state economy."

Photo Credit: David Hartley/Shutterstock

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