Senator Whitehouse, as a member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, has engaged on this issue by joining several other Senators in sending a letter to US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer. The December letter urged the establishment of an exclusion process for U.S. companies affected by the Section 301 tariffs against China—in other words, creating a mechanism for companies affected by the new 25% tariffs against $200 billion in imports to seek a waiver from those tariffs, so as to relieve some of the negative economic effect on American companies.

Tax issues advocate Grafton "Cap" Willey, IV presented testimony on 5.1.19 before the House Finance committee on H-5576, legislation which would restore an important tax deduction that was changed through the 2017 Federal Tax Reform bill. The change put a cap on an entity's utilization of the State and Local Taxes (SALT) deduction at $10,000, a cap that has hurt many small businesses in a high tax state such as RI.

The decision by the United States Friday to remove steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico drew quick praise from several industry associations and business groups. The U.S. administration's actions remove a 25% tariff on steel and 10% tariff on aluminum that had been placed on Mexico and Canada about a year ago under Section 232. Canada announced it would eliminate retaliatory duties.

United States factory production fell in April for a third time in four months with a broad decline led by weakness in machinery and motor vehicles, adding to signs of manufacturing sector weakness. The report shows manufacturing losing momentum amid a trade war with China that’s raised prices and complicated business decisions.