The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is urging the Trump administration to immediately implement a “tariff exclusion process” in order to keep the U.S. economy from falling into a recession and inflicting “irreparable harm” on small businesses.
In a letter first obtained by CNBC, the massive business lobbying group asked key Trump trade officials to automatically lift tariffs on all small business importers and on all products that “cannot be produced in the U.S.” or are not domestically available.
The letter from the chamber’s CEO, Suzanne Clark, also asked the Trump administration to establish a process for businesses to quickly obtain tariff exclusions if they can demonstrate that import duties pose “significant risks to U.S. employment.”
“We are deeply concerned that even if it only takes weeks or months to reach agreements, many small businesses will suffer irreparable harm,” Clark wrote in the letter sent late Wednesday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
“The Chamber requests the administration take immediate actions to save America’s small businesses and stave off a recession,” she wrote.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the letter.
Read the full letter here.
