Shaheen Grills Secretary Lutnick on Impacts of Damaging Steel Tariff on Granite State Businesses, Defense Supply Chain

(Washington, NH) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH),a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations and Small Business Committees, today questioned U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick during a Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee hearing examining the U.S. Department of Commerce’s budget request. During the hearing, Shaheen grilled Secretary Lutnick on President Trump’s damaging steel tariffs – which wererecently doubled– and drew attention to the impacts on New Hampshire businesses and the nation’s defense supply chain.You can watch the Senator’s full remarks and questionshere.
“Last month I visited a New Hampshire company that makes ball bearings for the aerospace industry. And I agree we should be protecting the aerospace industry in this country. It's our biggest export in New Hampshire - aerospace parts. They were very concerned about the impact of the steel tariffs on their ability to get ball bearings. They said not only has their costs gone up, but the lead time to get the steel to make the bearings. They only have one domestic supplier. While they had suppliers in the Indo-Pacific and in Canada, those have been eliminated under the tariffs. They said that their lead times have gone from 20 weeks to two and a half years because of the tariffs. I think this creates a real challenge with respect to our national security. A good percentage of the work they do is with the Department of Defense,”Shaheen said of the impacts tariffs are having on a Granite State manufacturer.
Secretary Lutnick dismissed Senator Shaheen’s concerns about rising costs for small businesses.
Shaheen also raised concerns over Secretary Lutnick’s plans to eliminate the Manufacturing Extension Partnership whose Centers provide access to expert advisors and technological services that help grow the U.S. manufacturing base, reduce operating costs, develop new technology and jobs and compete on a global scale. Shaheen noted that in Fiscal Year 2023, every dollar of federal investment in the program generated $24.60 in new sales growth and $27.50 in new client investment.
Senator Shaheen is helpinglead effortsin Congress to mitigate the harmful impacts of President Trump's tariffs. In January, Shaheen introduced theProtecting Americans from Tax Hikes on Imported Goods Actwhich would limit the president’s ability to leverage sweeping tariffs that increase costs for American consumers and families. Her effort to pass this bill by unanimous consentwas blockedby Senate Republicans. In recent months, Shaheen has traveled across the Granite State to visit businesses includingChatila’s Bakery,C&J,DCI Furniture, Mount Cabot Maple,American Calan Inc.,NH Ball BearingsandColby Footwear. to hear directly from Granite Staters impacted by the administration’s tariffs.
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