Today, Ed Gresser, Vice President and Director for Trade and Global Markets at the Progressive Policy Institute, published a new paper on the adverse effects of the United States tariff system on working American families — in particular, single-parent families and Black and Hispanic families.
The paper, titled “Trade Policy, Equity, and the Working Poor: United States MFN Tariffs are Regressive Taxes Which Help Few Workers and Harm Many” is published in concert with Mr. Gresser’s testimony before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on the issue of Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on U.S. Workers. At the request of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the ITC is conducting a year-long investigation of this topic, in the hopes of providing the U.S. government and Congress with deeper analyses of the effects of U.S. trade policies and agreements on lower-income and disadvantaged American communities.
Gresser’s paper and testimony highlight the very high permanent tariffs imposed on clothes, shoes, silverware, and other home goods. These range up to 48% for cheap sneakers, and are systematically higher on cheap goods bought by low-income families than on analogous luxuries bought by wealthy families.
“We have a unique opportunity to right a wrong in our U.S. tax system — one that disproportionately impacts low-income Americans by imposing tariffs that make home necessities more expensive,” said Ed Gresser. “The Biden Administration deserves credit for asking a core question that looms over trade policy and the path forward to a more fair U.S. trading system. The ITC’s research, data, and public hearings on tariff fairness are integral in illuminating this problem and inspiring trade policy that works for every American worker and family.”
Read the paper and expanded policy recommendations here:
Ed Gresser is Vice President and Director for Trade and Global Markets at PPI. He most recently served as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Trade Policy and Economics at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). Mr. Gresser has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, CNN, and New York Daily News.
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: Aaron White – awhite@ppionline.org
