Washington, D.C. – House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) today released the following statement regarding the announcement from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) of the Administration’s intent to levy tariffs against certain imports from China:

“My message has been consistent: we need to hit our target, which is China and its deceptive and harmful trading practices. But I am concerned that these new tariffs will instead hurt American manufacturers, farmers, workers, and consumers. 

“While it’s encouraging that not all of the initially proposed tariffs will be implemented – as a result of the comment period that Congress called for – I am alarmed that additional products are now placed on the list for possible future action. These tariffs make it more difficult to sell more ‘Made in America’ products globally and expose many of our industries – particularly agriculture and chemicals  – to devastating retaliation. I urge USTR to narrow these tariffs and implement an effective exclusion process that provides relief for American companies, unlike the problematic Commerce 232 exclusion process.”