Moderate Democrat seeks U.S. Treasury inflation study on tariffs
Reuters
Published Jun 08, 2022 10:51AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A moderate Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday introduced legislation to require the U.S. Treasury to assess the inflationary impact of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and largely retained by President Joe Biden.
Representative Stephanie Murphy of Florida, a longtime critic of the "Section 301" duties on Chinese imports, introduced the "Repeal Tariffs to Reduce Inflation Act of 2022" as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen faced a second day of tough questions over her past assessments that inflation would be transitory and subside more quickly.
Yellen on Tuesday told the Senate Finance Committee that inflation would remain high and the Biden administration would likely increase the 4.7% inflation forecast for this year.
But Yellen has also argued within the Biden administration that some of the tariffs on Chinese goods have unnecessarily raised costs on American consumers and should be repealed. But she has said that such action may not be a "game changer" to reduce inflation.
Murphy's bill would require the Treasury, in coordination with the U.S. Trade Representative's office and the U.S. International Trade Commission to prepare an assessment of the inflationary impact of the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, the Section 232 tariffs on most steel and aluminum imports, and Section 201 "safeguard" tariffs on washing machines and solar panels.
“My bill requires the federal government to assess whether U.S. tariffs imposed on a wide range of imported products are a factor contributing to elevated inflation," said Murphy, who is not seeking re-election in her Orlando-area district in November.
"If the answer is yes, as both common sense and basic economics strongly suggest, the federal government should act to repeal or reduce those tariffs in order to provide price relief to the American public."
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.