This week, Ed Gresser, Vice President and Director for Trade and Global Markets at the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) submitted comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on ways trade policy can advance racial and gender equity, as well as support historically underserved communities.
Gresser outlines how the U.S. tariff system is an unusually regressive part of the tax system, highlighting the fact that tariff rates are much higher on cheaper, mass-market consumer goods such as clothes, shoes, silverware, and home linens than on expensive luxuries, and so impose higher costs on low-income families.
“There is strong evidence that the tariff system has some detrimental effects in several areas, and in some ways, it presents an unfortunate contrast with other American taxes. Specifically, it taxes cheap and simple consumer goods much more heavily than analogous luxuries, and taxes many women’s clothing products at higher rates than analogous men’s clothes. This makes the tariff system an unusually regressive part of the American tax system, and likely the only one with an explicit gender bias,” Gresser writes.
Gresser notes the “Pink Tax” in clothing tariffs, pointing out that the tariff system taxes women’s clothing at higher rates than men’s. He and PPI Summer Policy Fellow, Elaine Wei provide a detailed review of gendered clothing tariff rates, comparing men’s and women’s coats, suits and ensembles, shirts and blouses, and underwear. Lastly, he writes that communities most often impacted by tariff disparities rarely know they are affected, and are thus less likely to respond to government requests for public comment or even to direct outreach. Gresser urges policymakers as a first step to develop more detailed and contextual publications on the way these systems function and how they affect different communities across the country.
“Many of the peak tariff lines apply to products not made in the United States, and could be revised without harm to U.S. growth or existing employment though at some modest cost in revenue,” Gresser continues.
Read the full response here.
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org.
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Media Contact: Amelia Fox – afox@ppionline.org
