The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association has written a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump in support of the administration’s actions to increase American production of aluminum and steel, but the group is requesting that the White House make sure that there be no blanket quotas or tariffs on any of these materials.
The MEMA suggests that having tariffs on steel and aluminum would be putting manufacturing jobs and economic security in America at risk. Motor vehicle suppliers in the U.S. directly employee around 871,000 people and they are expecting their need for engineers, technicians and skilled trades to grow and contribute largely to the economy. However, according to the association, growth is based on the assumption that there will be no changes to steel imports. Any variations could have negative effects by putting jobs at risk and running counter to the government’s effort to bring jobs back to the U.S.
“Many specialty materials and components imported by motor vehicle suppliers are used by hundreds of vehicle parts manufacturers. Suppliers’ access to these specialized products is critical to the industry and our national economy,” MEMA president and CEO Steve Handschuh says in the letter.
“Suppliers’ access to these specialized products is critical to the industry and our national economy. If a tariff determination is made, these products should be excluded prior to the tariff going into effect. Individual companies should not have to separately apply for exemptions or exclusion for these specialty products,” Handschuh said.
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