U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) recently pointed to charts provided by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a hearing on tariffs that confirm what local manufacturers have told her: steel and aluminum prices had already increased ahead of the tariffs that took effect Friday.
“This is about jobs in my district,” Walorski told Ross, who testified before the Ways and Means Committee. “You say this chart says that the RV industry will be fine. With all due respect, this chart cannot speak, but the RV manufacturers in my district can. What they and other manufacturers in my district have been telling me over the last year is that while tariffs take effect tomorrow, the mere threat of tariffs has been felt already.”
Ross testified before the full Ways and Means Committee about the tariffs on steel and aluminum. Walorski, last week, led 15 of her Ways and Means colleagues in sending a letter to Ross urging retroactive relief for companies that successfully petition for product exclusions from the tariffs.
In a hearing on Wednesday, Walorski pressed U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Lighthizer on the administration’s response to threats of retaliatory tariffs that could harm American farmers, manufacturers, and other small businesses.
Walorski previously sent a letter to President Trump expressing concerns with his tariff proposal and sharing feedback from local manufacturers. She also signed a letter, along with 106 of her House Republican colleagues, urging the president to target unfair trade practices rather than impose blanket tariffs.
