Escalating trade tensions could threaten nearly 500,000 Oregon jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of exports, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce analysis.
The Trump administration has targeted China, Canada, Mexico and European Union nations with large tariffs on imports, such as steel and aluminum, claiming the trade partners have routinely ripped off the United States by flooding the market with cheaper goods while restricting their imports of American products.
But many of those countries have responded by announcing new tariffs on American-made goods. The growing likelihood of a trade war threatens to make American products from cars to bread to whiskey more expensive for global consumers, and foreign imports costlier for Americans, the Chamber warned Monday as it kicked off a campaign against Trump’s tariffs.
In Oregon, $799 million in annual exports could be threatened by a trade war, according to the Chamber report. Citing U.S. Department of Commerce and government export data, the report warns of what it calls major negative consequences for every state.
The report highlights how the Trump administration has split with classic Republican policy on trade. The national chamber, which almost always supports Republican administrations’ economic policies, warned that tariffs imposed by the U.S. “are nothing more than a tax increase on American consumers and businesses, including manufacturers, farmers, and technology companies, who will all pay more for commonly used products and materials.”
The chamber report details $434 million in annual exports from Oregon to China, including automobiles, wheat and aluminum scrap. Canadian tariffs could affect another $340 million in exports from Oregon, with Oregon plywood, aluminum, iron and steel especially hard hit.
“Tariffs are beginning to take a toll on American businesses, workers, farmers, and consumers as overseas markets close to American-made products and prices increase here at home,” U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue said in the report.
Oregon is more insulated from Mexican and European retaliatory tariffs, the report said. But the effect of Trump’s Chinese and Canadian tariffs could have a large impact in Oregon. China retaliated against America’s tariffs on Chinese products with $50 billion in tariffs on American-made products, while Canada responded to American tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum tariffs with $12.6 billion in tariffs on American products.
The tariffs could trigger job losses. The Chamber said about 498,000 Oregon jobs are supported by global trade.
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