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.
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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.
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