Anti-tariff lobbyists struggle in Washington

Glacier FarmMedia—A prominent lobbyist in Washington, D.C., who represents manufacturers of machinery and farm equipment in America is having little success with U.S. president Donald Trump’s administration on tariffs.

Kip Eideberg, vice-president of government and industry relations with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), said it’s very challenging right now to talk to Republicans about the benefits of trade.

“It is a frustration … that there seems to be precious few Republicans on Capitol Hill who are for free and fair trade,” said Eideberg while standing beside the AEM booth at the Commodity Classic trade show in Denver March 3.

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“This used to be a Republican core issue (free trade). Where have all those Republicans gone?”

‘Tariffs are taxes’

Despite the frustrations, the AEM and other groups continue to lobby politicians and members of Trump’s cabinet about the danger of tariffs.

The AEM, which represents manufacturers of farm and construction machinery is still trying to talk with politicians and deliver a clear message.

“Our position is very simple. Tariffs are taxes. They’re taxes on American manufacturers. They’re taxes on American farmers…. This is no way to bolster U.S. manufacturing,” said Eideberg, who has been listed as one of the top lobbyists in Washington for the last six years.

Eideberg and others are still able to get access to policy-makers and powerful people in the American government.

At the Commodity Classic in Denver, he walked the trade show floor with U.S. agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins.

His message to her was that tariffs on Canada and other countries are damaging for American farmers.

“These tariffs are going to make all of this great (farm) equipment, on display here, more expensive. That will lead to fewer American jobs.”

Listening to farmers?

Rollins, who spoke to the media at the Commodity Classic, said she’s listening to such messages. She has only been in the role of ag secretary for a couple of weeks but has met with hundreds of farmers.

Many of them are worried about tariffs and the consequences for America’s ag industry, she said.

“That is my role,” Rollins said.

“To ensure that those concerns are heard, effectively.”

That’s positive for groups like AEM, but Eideberg believes that Trump is hell bent on imposing duties on Canada, Mexico and other countries.

The U.S. government will proceed with tariffs on a wide range of goods and products, which will have economic consequences.

The American public and the economy will have to suffer before Trump changes his mind, Eideberg said.

“I think the one thing that’s going to perhaps ensure that the tariffs come off or are not fully implemented is a recession,” he said.

“Tariffs are inflationary and are going to drive up (inflation)…. It’s a shame we have to rely on something like a recession … unfortunately.”

Another possibility is a re-negotiation of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, provided President Trump can tell his supporters he got a “win” in the new deal.

—Updated – adds photo of Kip Eideberg