American farmers are hoping to convince President Donald Trump to stop killing their businesses with his devastating trade war in new a multimillion-dollar campaign called “Tariffs Hurt the Heartland,” USA Today reports.
More than 80 trade associations representing thousands of businesses and workers announced a new coalition called “Americans for Free Trade”.
The coalition will join agriculture groups to launch a multimillion-dollar campaign against tariffs.
The campaign “will highlight the negative impact of tariffs on businesses and the benefits of international trade to the U.S. Economy,” USA Today reports.
“Every sector of the U.S. economy stands to lose in a trade war,” said Matthew Shay, the head of the National Retail Federation. “The stakes couldn’t be higher for American families, businesses, farmers and workers threatened by job losses and higher prices as a result of tit-for-tat tariffs.”
Via USA Today:
The anti-tariff campaign comes as the Trump administration is preparing to impose new duties any day now on another $200 billion in imports from China as part of a broader tug of war between Washington and Beijing.
The administration already has levied tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods amid complaints that China engages in unfair trade practices, including the theft of U.S. technology and intellectual property. China has retaliated with tariffs on an equal amount of U.S. products.
The trade associations launching the anti-tariff campaign represent thousands of American workers potentially impacted by the trade war, including toy makers, fashion designers, grocers, whiskey distillers, the petroleum industry and others.
The campaign will include events in congressional districts around the country about how tariffs have hurt farmers, factory workers, and business owners.
“In addition, the groups will buy ads on TV, radio and online, set up a rapid-response ‘war room’ to fact-check and respond to tariff announcements, launch a digital media campaign explaining the economic harm of tariffs and write op-eds and blog posts from Americans bearing the brunt of tariffs,” USA Today adds.
