Looking ahead to Super Tuesday, tariffs remain a significant problem that threaten business owners, farmers, and communities throughout America and in key states such as Minnesota, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Data from Tariffs Hurt the Heartland shows that to date, taxpayers in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Virginia have paid a combined $2.9 billion in additional tariffs since the trade war with China began. Beyond this, trade supports over 2.3 million jobs in these three states, and 164,800 jobs could be lost if businesses don’t receive the relief they need from the trade war.
This is exactly why Democratic presidential candidates need to show Minnesotans, North Carolinians, and Virginians that they are laser-focused on helping these states recover from the damage brought by tariffs and lay out a plan to finally bring the trade war to an end.
As the trade war continues to drag on, it’s becoming more apparent than ever that Americans are the ones paying for tariffs — not China. Late last year, NPR shed a spotlight on Dan Digre, the president of Misco Speakers in St. Paul. According to Digre, it’s American businesses like his that are paying for the tariffs:
“It comes out of our bottom line … And that’s the money that we need to be
reinvesting in new technology, in new products — all of the things that makes
your business competitive in a global economy.”
Agriculture, the largest sector of North Carolina’s economy, has been hit particularly hard, with exports of tobacco and soy sharply declining. As Larry Wooten, farmer and president of the N.C. Farm Bureau said about the impact of the trade wars:
“The damage is deep and it’s ongoing.”
Despite the signing of the recent Phase One Deal between the U.S. and China, trade uncertainty still remains. Shelley Barlow, a cotton farmer in Suffolk, Virginia explained in the Hampton Roads Business Journal how farming is an optimistic industry and the current tariff situation is unsustainable: “We have got to get back to some sort of normalized trade.”
While the Phase One Deal has provided some relief, more work remains. That’s why it’s important that presidential candidates lay out a plan to remove all tariffs that have hurt Minnesotans, North Carolinians, Virginians, and Americans nationwide.
If you are interested in speaking with someone about the trade war and how it is hurting Super Tuesday residents ahead of the primaries, please contact press@americansforfreetrade.com.