A Republican lawmaker in Michigan is breaking, however slightly, with President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda.
Rep. John James, who represents the state’s 10th congressional district, is pushing new legislation that aims to shield his state’s businesses from the impacts of the trade war with Canada.
The congressman, who is running for governor of Michigan in the November election, launched a plan last week to utilize tariff revenue to help reshore jobs and provide temporary relief to local businesses that have suffered economic harm under the tit-for-tat trade spat, which has escalated in recent weeks to include 50 percent bilateral tariffs on dozens of categories of goods.
James’ move underscores the growing unpopularity of the administration’s tariff strategy, especially among the country’s heavy manufacturing hubs. Under the lawmaker’s plan, dubbed the Tariff Relief for American Development and Employment (TRADE) Act, the government would allocate a certain portion of tariff earnings to funnel back into Michigan’s hard-hit communities.
“Michigan is disproportionately affected by the trade war, so it’s reasonable to use tariff revenue to reduce the effect on Michigan businesses and workers,” James said.
The district, which encompasses Macomb County, Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County, is an industrial and manufacturing hotspot within the state of Michigan. Production jobs employ about 80,000 workers (about 20 percent of the district’s total population), according to Data USA, a project by Deloitte, Datawheel and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Roughly 42,000, or 11 percent, work in retail trade.
“Our country needs to push back on unfair trade practices, but states like Michigan should not have to shoulder that burden alone,” James said in a statement.
Since the turn of the century and the advent of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Michigan has shed around 300,000 manufacturing jobs, many of which went to Canada, the congressman’s office said. James described the trade relationship as “not reciprocal,” asserting that Canada has allowed China to circumvent U.S. duties by dumping auto parts into the Canadian market. Those components end up in U.S. supply chains, he claimed.
Nonetheless, James wants to see the relationship issues resolved, and has spoken with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to urge officials to return to the negotiating table to put a stop to the trade war.
“I fought with Canadians in Iraq. We have a deep and abiding bond that will not extinguish. I’m committed to making sure we continue to improve and deepen our relationships, and making sure our differences are resolved in a civil manner, quickly,” the lawmaker said. “Our countries need to work out a reciprocal, fair, and mutually beneficial arrangement so we can bring back jobs and protect our industry.”
A veteran of his family’s shipping and logistics firm, James said he has experience in cross-border trade and that he believes his bill will help American enterprises avoid cutting headcount, stopping production or delaying investment because tariff costs are weighing them down.
The TRADE Act includes a Tariff Impact Relief Program, which would funnel a portion of tariff revenue into production capacity, as well as the Tariff Relief for American Development and Employment Fund (TRADE Fund), which would help offset immediate harms caused by providing “targeted, temporary assistance.”
In order to qualify for the bill’s benefits, businesses must commit to keeping production in the U.S., maintaining their employment numbers and investing in areas like working capital, payroll, domestic investment, domestic sourcing, training or productivity-related activities.
Guardrails will be put in place, he added, including assurances that the funds provided to businesses won’t be used to buy back stocks, pay dividends or boost executive salaries. Moreover, the capital can’t be used to relocate production to another country or to acquire a competing business without the explicit permission of the Secretary of Commerce.
The Commerce Department would establish clawback provisions in the event that fraud or violations of these terms take place, James said.