Industry leaders react to U.S. election results

WASHINGTON (Nov. 9, 2016) — Many business organizations, including the National Federation of Independent Business  (NFIB) and the American Trucking Associations (ATA), are congratulating Donald Trump on his winning the U.S. presidency over Hillary Clinton.

The business groups, for the most part, cite President-elect Trump's promises to revive the U.S. economy for their support.  

“We look forward to working with him on policies to strengthen small business, which represents 99.7 percent of all U.S. employers and which provides jobs for 58 million Americans,” NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan said.

“During the campaign, he (Trump) highlighted the need to create jobs, and recognized that improving our nation's infrastructure is critical to strengthening the economy,” according to ATA President and CEO Chris Spear, who said the ATA already has begun meeting with Trump transition team.

“As the industry that moves nearly 70 percent of our nation's freight and is a key economic driver, we look forward to working with President-elect Trump on a host of issues, including long-term, sustainable infrastructure funding, tax reform and fair and free trade.”

Tire Industry Association Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield said he expected some good things to happen for tire dealers in a Trump administration, but added there are some question marks.

“With a Republican White House, Senate and House of Representatives, there are a lot of issues the GOP could advance, including estate tax repeal which is a big issue for us,” Mr. Littlefield said. “We'll see a lot of positive things happening.”

Other items that could be changed or repealed to TIA members' benefit include minimum wage laws, family leave, the new Labor Department overtime pay rules and the Affordable Care Act, with its punitive insurance rules for small business, according to Mr. Littlefield.

But there are some things Mr. Trump may do that would not be beneficial to tire dealers, such as new tariffs and value-added taxes on imported tires, Mr. Littlefield said.

Surface transportation funding may also be a problem under a Trump adminstration if he backs funding methods harmful to TIA members, such as fuel taxes or vehicle-miles-driven taxes, he said.

Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, congratulated Trump “for a successful campaign and for articulating a vision of a stronger economy with manufacturing at the center of a strategy to rebuild the middle class.

“President-Elect Trump and Congress must come together on much-needed investment that will put Americans to work building and repairing our country's infrastructure,” Mr. Paul said.

Rubber Manufacturers Association President and CEO Anne Forristall Luke said the RMA would work with the Trump administration as it had with previous administrations.

“RMA will engage with the incoming administration's transition team and work to educate incoming appointees, policymakers and new members of Congress about the issues important to U.S. tire manufacturers and the people and communities we serve,” Ms. Luke said.

National Small Business Association (NSBA) President and CEO Todd McCracken said he urged policymakers “policymakers to reach across the aisle to work on the important issues facing our nation: reducing the deficit and our long-term debt; reforming our overly complex tax code; reining-in the costs of health care; strengthening our international trade agreements; and streamlining burdensome regulations.”

Mr. McCracken added: “Economic and political uncertainty is a huge concern for small businesses, and the top priority for lawmakers today and in the coming months must be to ensure political stability and promote economic growth. NSBA is committed to working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in moving the country forward.”

The United Steelworkers — which had been highly critical of Mr. Trump throughout the campaign — had no official statement about the outcome of the election as of Nov. 9. However, USW International President Leo W. Gerard issued a blog piece Nov. 8 praising Secretary Clinton.

“The year 2001, when I became president of the United Steelworkers and Hillary Clinton took office and a U.S. senator from New York, was a desperate, terrible time for steelworkers,” Mr. Gerard wrote.

“As I fought to save jobs, I found that some lawmakers were true to their word, and Sen. Hillary Clinton was one of them,” he wrote. “She never let workers down.”

In a mock election at the Global Tire Expo in Las Vegas the first week of November, the Tire Industry Association found that 56.8 percent of 725 attendees voted for Trump, vs. 43.2 percent for Clinton.

Mr. Trump is the 45th president of the U.S., winning 279 electoral votes as of the morning of Nov. 9. Ms. Clinton received 218 electoral votes, with some states still too close to call on Nov. 9.

A presidential candidate needs 270 of the Electoral College's 538 votes to win.

Ms. Clinton received a slight plurality in the popular vote, 59.4 million vs. Trump's 59.2 million, in the early count.

Senate Democrats, who had hoped to gain a majority in the election, gained only one seat, going to 47 out of 100. House Democrats gained three seats, to 191 out of 435.

 “(Mr.) Trump said we must spend more on infrastructure,” Mr. Littlefield said. “We all agree with that, but funding is another matter.”

Steven Szakaly, chief economist of the National Automobile Dealers Association, said: “Over the medium and longer terms, [Mr.] Trump's stated or understood policy objectives will produce significant positive tailwinds, particularly as they direct us to lower corporate taxes, increased infrastructure spending, and reduced regulation across all aspects of business. The negatives are, of course, an assault on free trade and immigration.

“So where does this leave car sales? Still slowing in response to the U.S. market maturing — but not as a result of the election. In fact, in the medium and long term, if increased infrastructure spending happens and certain tax cuts materialize, it will mean a better long-term outlook than what's in front of us at present.”

John Mashburn, a senior policy adviser for Trump, said:

“The Trump Administration will complete a comprehensive review of all federal regulations. This includes a review of the fuel economy and emissions standards to make sure they are not harming consumers or American workers.

“It is important to remember that this particular program was first put in place as a way to reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil, not for purposes of global warming regulation. Mr. Trump will be focused on bringing jobs, including auto manufacturing, back to the U.S., and making sure that government policies are in the national interest.”

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This article includes input from Automotive News and other Crain Communications resources.