[CTC] CPC Center || Approaching Trade and Tariffs from a Progressive, Pro-Worker Point of View

Wed Aug 13 09:19:34 PDT 2025

https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/approaching-trade-tariffs

APPROACHING TRADE AND TARIFFS FROM A PROGRESSIVE, PRO-WORKER POINT OF VIEW

*Updated August 1, 2025*

*Authors**: Sara Steffens, Director of Worker Power, Congressional
Progressive Caucus Center*

As the Trump Administration continues to push ineffective tariff policies
<https://rooseveltinstitute.org/publications/trump-admin-tariffs/> and
ignite escalating trade wars
<https://apnews.com/article/consumer-prices-inflation-trump-trade-6ea513a44876c2f4dc948a25c15b0eb0>,
America’s working families are left hanging
<https://www.businessinsider.com/tariffs-liberation-day-prices-inflation-economy-recession-2025-4>
in the balance — caught between rising prices
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/business/walmart-earnings-tariffs-consumer.html>
and a weakening job market
<https://www.epi.org/blog/private-sector-job-growth-notably-weaker-in-june-amid-rising-economic-uncertainty/>,
and worrying
<https://www.epi.org/blog/private-sector-job-growth-notably-weaker-in-june-amid-rising-economic-uncertainty/>
about what comes next.

It’s tempting to blame tariffs alone for the larger chaos of Trump’s mismanaged
economy
<https://www.npr.org/2025/04/30/nx-s1-5380204/trump-economy-gdp-tariffs-recession-consumers>.
But that critique ignores the fact that working families and communities
throughout the United States have been harmed by decades of disastrous
trade agreements
<https://www.epi.org/publication/the-u-s-approach-to-globalization-has-gone-from-bad-to-worse-under-trump-how-to-construct-a-progressive-policy-agenda-instead/>
designed to protect corporate interests.  And it overlooks the hits
economists know will result from Trump’s attacks on federal workers,
campaign of terror on immigrant workers, slashing of investments in
infrastructure and clean energy, and devastating cuts to Medicaid and other
critical programs that support workers and the economy.

Now more than ever, pro-worker advocates and policymakers have a critical
role in showing how progressive fair trade policies — including strategic,
targeted tariffs — can help build a better future for workers and
communities.

Here are six points of broad agreement among progressive, pro-worker
advocates:
*1. THE STATUS QUO IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.*

Corporate-dominated free-trade agreements like the North American Free
Trade Agreement
<https://www.cbp.gov/trade/north-american-free-trade-agreement> (NAFTA) and
its successor, the Trump-negotiated United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
<https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/united-states-mexico-canada-agreement>
(USMCA), have been a disaster
<https://www.epi.org/blog/naftas-impact-workers/> for workers and
communities. So-called “free trade” policy has failed to protect working
families, devastated American communities centered around industrial
production, and sparked a race to the bottom, accelerating economic
inequality. Widening trade deficits with China and Mexico continue to
suppress U.S. employment.

Since its passage, NAFTA has caused widespread wage suppression, job
displacement, and job loss
<https://www.epi.org/publication/adding-insult-to-injury-how-bad-policy-decisions-have-amplified-globalizations-costs-for-american-workers/>,
including of higher-wage union jobs in manufacturing and related
industries. Meanwhile, the move to grant China permanent access to our
market without requiring progress on labor, environmental, human rights,
and other standards led to the loss of 3.7 million jobs
<https://www.epi.org/publication/growing-china-trade-deficits-costs-us-jobs/>,
nearly three million of which were in manufacturing. One study estimated
that in a single year, Americans who were able to find new employment still
suffered $37 billion in lost wages, as victims of offshoring moved into
lower-paying work.  The impacts of corporate-centered trade policy has
impacted workers across lines
<https://www.epi.org/publication/botched-policy-responses-to-globalization/>
of races
<https://groundworkcollaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/The-Impact-of-Trade-on-Black-Workers.pdf>,
ages <https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub5374.pdf>, and geography
<https://www.epi.org/publication/trading-manufacturing-advantage-china-trade/>.
The auto industry alone has lost 65 “big three” U.S. plants since the
passage of NAFTA — and despite the USMCA’s promises to raise labor
standards in Mexico, Mexican autoworkers still are paid one-tenth the wages
of their U.S. counterparts.

Even where factories have not yet closed, the credible threat of offshoring
has been used to undermine workers at the bargaining table, to bust unions,
and created a challenge
<https://www.epi.org/publication/briefingpapers_bp147/> for trying to build
power at the workplace and get an equitable share.
<https://www.academia.edu/811978/Well_close_Plant_closings_plant_closing_threats_union_organizing_and_NAFTA>
Workers are right to critique the rigged trade deals of the past, and to
expect better from their elected leaders.

*2. TARIFFS ARE NOT INHERENTLY GOOD OR BAD.*

Like taxes, tariffs are a tool
<https://www.epi.org/publication/tariffs-everything-you-need-to-know-but-were-afraid-to-ask/>
— their effectiveness depends on the details
<https://www.vox.com/policy/406605/trump-tariff-plan-liberation-day> of how
they are used. It matters *a lot* how and when tariffs are applied, and
whether their use is targeted to achieve a specific desired outcome.

Tariffs paid by importers can be an important and effective policy tool –
but only if done right. Strategic and targeted tariffs, such as those
conducted under Sections 232
<https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/entry-summary/232-tariffs-aluminum-and-steel-faqs>
and 301
<https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/entry-summary/section-301-trade-remedies/faqs>,
can promote high labor standards, support environmental outcomes, build
supply chain resilience, and even promote national security interests.

For workers in industries hurt by unfair trade practices, tariffs can be a
lifeline to level the playing field, preserving domestic production and
good jobs. But in efforts to grow the U.S. manufacturing sector, and
compete in industries like next generation energy production, tariffs alone
are not a panacea — they are just one element of a broader industrial
policy strategy.

*3. REBUILDING AMERICA’S MANUFACTURING ECONOMY WILL TAKE A LOT MORE THAN
TARIFFS ALONE* – *INVESTMENTS AND INCENTIVES ARE KEY.*

Experts agree: retaliatory tariffs that start and stop unpredictably are a
disaster for our economy and communities. The resulting chaos discourages
long-term business investments
<https://www.plasticstoday.com/automotive-mobility/will-tariffs-spark-a-us-manufacturing-renaissance->
in opening new manufacturing facilities.

What works? Targeted, durable tariffs
<https://aflcio.org/about/leadership/statements/tariffs-and-trade-policy>
paired with industrial policies like  public investments in science,
research, domestic production, and infrastructure, regulation, and
workforce development. Think of programs like the CHIPS and Science Act
<https://www.commerce.gov/news/blog/2024/08/two-years-later-funding-chips-and-science-act-creating-quality-jobs-growing-local>,
the Inflation Reduction Act
<https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/whats-in-the-final-text-of-the-inflation-reduction-act>,
and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
<https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/d1342923-d8e8-4c82-b1ea-6818a9253e25/econ-benefits-of-bipartisan-infra-deal-fact-sheet.pdf>.
These programs combined substantial public investment and tax incentives
with pro-worker provisions that reward employers that use high-paid, union
labor.
*4. MANUFACTURING JOBS ARE GOOD JOBS WHEN THEY ARE UNION JOBS. *

Workers aren’t yearning for a return to turn-of-the century manufacturing
sweatshops rife with injuries
<https://eh.net/encyclopedia/history-of-workplace-safety-in-the-united-states-1880-1970/>,
child labor
<https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2017/article/history-of-child-labor-in-the-united-states-part-1.htm>,
poverty wages, and rampant exploitation. What communities want to revive
are the high wages, good benefits, and safe working conditions made
possible by decades of strong union advocacy in industries like auto
manufacturing and steel production.

Reducing the credible threat of offshoring is only part of the picture in
strengthening workers’ hands on the shop floor and at the bargaining table.
Policymakers who truly want the best for workers pair economic development
with policies that make it easier for *all workers* to form and join
unions. This includes maintaining a functional
<https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/crisis-at-nlrb> and adequately
funded National Labor Relations Board; funding and strengthening workplace
safety
<https://www.npr.org/2025/05/14/nx-s1-5398092/niosh-reinstates-occupational-health-workers>,
wage, and antidiscrimination
<https://nationalpartnership.org/news_post/dismantling-ofccp-far-reaching-repercussions-for-underrepresented-workers/>
enforcement; repealing the Trump Executive Order that stripped union
protections
<https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/understanding-trumps-latest-attack-on-federal-unions>
from a million federal workers; and passing essential labor reforms
including the PRO Act
<https://bobbyscott.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/bipartisan-labor-leaders-introduce-bill-protect-workers-right-0>
and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act
<https://norcross.house.gov/2025/4/norcross-hirono-introduce-public-service-freedom-to-negotiate-act>
.

*5. WHAT TRUMP IS DOING ISN’T PRO-WORKER—IT’S A CON. AND HIS TARIFFS JUST
WON’T WORK THE WAY HE CLAIMS THEY WILL.*

President Trump’s so-called “reciprocal” tariffs, as well as tariffs
imposed on Canada and Mexico for non-trade purposes, fit right in with his
authoritarian
<https://www.npr.org/2025/04/22/nx-s1-5340753/trump-democracy-authoritarianism-competive-survey-political-scientist>,
anti-democratic
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/opinion/trump-authoritarianism-democracy.html>
approach to government. He is deliberately imposing chaos to enable secret
backroom deals
<https://time.com/7280114/donald-trump-2025-interview-transcript/> where he
holds all the power—opening the door to even more of the corruption and
cronyism
<https://www.citizen.org/article/trump-loves-tariffs-just-not-for-the-rich-and-well-connected/>
that define his administration.

Instead of fighting for workers, Trump is rewarding loyalty
<https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idRW541209042025RP1/>. The wealthy and
well-connected who bend the knee will get special treatment — as fossil
fuel campaign donors
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/04/trump-exempts-big-oil-donors-from-tariffs>
and big tech
<https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/12/trump-apple-china-tariff-rollback.html>
already have. Small “Main Street” businesses with less power will lose out
— and so will the workers and shoppers who depend on them.

When policies affect us all, working people, unions, and elected
representatives deserve transparency and a seat at the table. Corporate
CEOs should not have secret access to shape trade deals in ways that line
their own pockets while hurting workers.

*6. WE NEED BOLD, PROGRESSIVE VISIONS TO REBUILD WORKER POWER IN
MANUFACTURING AND THROUGHOUT THE U.S. ECONOMY.*

Trade policy can be complex — but it is too important for progressives to
sit out! We need bold, effective, progressive alternatives to the chaos
Trump is creating under the false pretense of rebuilding manufacturing.

Working families must demand transparency in tariffs negotiations and USMCA
reauthorization <https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF10997>, to ensure
new agreements put workers first, don’t undermine labor standards, and
address the failures of past deals. And progressive trade policy must be
part of a broader economic agenda
<https://progressives.house.gov/2024/4/congressional-progressive-caucus-unveils-new-legislative-agenda-to-deliver-equality-justice-and-economic-security-for-working-people>
that puts working families first.

*Resources:*

https://aflcio.org/about/advocacy/legislative-alerts/letter-urging-congress-chart-path-trade-policy-puts-american

https://www.epi.org/publication/the-u-s-approach-to-globalization-has-gone-from-bad-to-worse-under-trump-how-to-construct-a-progressive-policy-agenda-instead/
<https://www.epi.org/publication/the-u-s-approach-to-globalization-has-gone-from-bad-to-worse-under-trump-how-to-construct-a-progressive-policy-agenda-instead/>

https://www.epi.org/publication/tariffs-everything-you-need-to-know-but-were-afraid-to-ask/
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