WCIT: Lack Of Trade Hurting NW Ag, Washington Economy

The Washington Council on International Trade is another group expressing its displeasure at the Trump Administration calling for tariffs, whether that’s against China or long-time allies like Canada and Mexico.  President Trump and his supporters say tariffs are a good thing, for which consumers don’t pay.  Lori Otto Punk, President of the WCIT disagrees for several reasons.

“One, we're already in an inflationary economy and tariffs are taxes, effectively. And so when we tax goods and services coming into the U.S., it's just another cost that U.S. consumers have to pay. And I think there's a bit of an illusion that exports are all good and imports are all bad. But a number of U.S. businesses, small and large, import a lot, and then, you know, do something higher value in the U.S., and then send those goods and services outside the US again.”

Otto Punk added the farm sector is typically one of the first to face retaliatory tariffs with the U.S. makes these kinds of moves.  She said the U.S. needs to establish more trade agreements that benefit all parties involved including growers.

“I think that there's a lot of places where there is just mutually advantageous trade. If you look at some of the disadvantages that Washington state Ag producers, wine producers, etc. are facing as a result of being out of the Trans Pacific Partnership, now called CTPPP, for example, you know our exporters are paying a lot more money and some of those markets than their competitors, and we're at a strong competitive disadvantage. So, you know, historically the U.S. has written the rules of trade, you know, coming out of World War II and has been part of really making the critical decisions about how trade is facilitated. And so we'd really want to make sure that the U.S. has a seat at the table in terms of driving what decisions are made.”

Otto Punk added, just because the U.S. is not front footed on international trade doesn't mean that other countries, such as China, aren't continuing to fill that void.  Otto Punk added tariffs have a track record of unintended consequences, including inflation, supply chain disruptions, job losses and other restrictions.

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