US companies remain loyal to Republicans despite tariff concerns

When she was interviewed by a television reporter about Donald Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports last week, Leah Vukmir, a Wisconsin Republican who ran in the US mid-term elections, said expressed its full support.

"What the president is doing is already showing signs of. . . make a change or a difference in China because their [gross domestic product] is already down, "she told the local television channel. "They are starting to crumble," she added.

His remarks run counter to the dominant view of US stakeholder groups who warned that the Trump administration's trade war with China could backfire US companies and consumers by raising prices and harming to exports.

The American Chamber of Commerce has been one of the most vocal critics of the use of tariffs. However, this did not stop the largest group of American companies from supporting Ms. Vukmir in her fight to overthrow Tammy Baldwin, the incumbent Democrat, a few days later.

"She will take steps to put in place an employment agenda that will help the industry innovate and grow for generations to come," said Rob Engstrom, vice-president of political affairs for the chamber.

The chamber's support for Ms. Vukmir shows how close ties Republicans have with American businesses for decades have withstood the relationship breakdown triggered by Trump's mandate in the White House.

You need to be very sure that the candidate you are supporting does not also talk about positions that will annoy your customers, your employees and your shareholders.

Despite concerns over the damage caused by a long-running trade war with China, trade tensions with Western US partners and the control of immigration, Washington's business lobbyists – and the companies that fund – are still hoping that Trump's party will retain control of Congress.

One of their goals is to preserve Mr. Trump's tax cuts and his deregulation program, which have been implemented with strong corporate support.

Both could be threatened by a democratic takeover of the House of Representatives, as many pollsters predict, and even more so if the opposition wins the Senate, which is considered less likely.

"Tariffs are the issue of the day, but whether it's a regulatory reform or a tax reform, the Republican Congress and the president have done very well," said one of the key lobbyists. business world.

"Not a single Democrat has voted in favor of tax reform legislation, which is for many business groups one of the most important achievements of the last decade or more." , he added.

This does not mean that Republicans have an advantage in terms of fundraising before the vote, quite the opposite. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, $ 5.2 billion will be spent on this year's elections, making it the most expensive contest ever to be held mid-stream, fueled by a flood of money from individual Democratic donors hoping to hit Mr. Trump hard. Democrats outnumbered Republicans in the House and Senate.

The defense, energy and agriculture sectors are still mostly in favor of Conservative candidates, while lawyers and unions remain loyal to the Liberals, but this year saw some industries and some businesses change their allegiances.

Wall Street, as measured by donations from the securities and investment sector, has given more for Democrats than for Republicans for the first time since 2008, the PRC revealed. The pharmaceutical sector, under pressure from President Trump on the price of drugs, gives more to Republicans than to Democrats this year, but with a narrower margin than in the last three elections. And in the largest companies in Silicon Valley, from Apple to Alphabet, Democrats garner a much larger majority of employee donations than in 2016.

Yet many individual companies are more cautious than in previous years in terms of policy. "Politics has become so polarized that you, a company executive, run such a risk," said Maria Patterson, associate clinical professor at NYU Stern School of Business. "You have to be very sure that the candidate you are supporting does not also talk about positions that will annoy your customers, your employees and your shareholders."

On K Street – where the lobbying industry is located in Washington – there is still a familiar feeling that Capitol Hill Republicans are more aligned with business interests than their Democratic opponents, and even the commercial groups. Farmers remain with the Republicans, although they suffer the shock of China's retaliatory tariffs against the United States.

Another business lobbyist said that trade was an important issue but that the "totality" of candidates' positions needed to be taken into account – and that the Democratic Party had "tossed very left" in recent years under And the growing influence of Bernie Sanders, Senator of Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren, Senator of Massachusetts, in his ranks.

There was no guarantee that a democratically controlled Congress would be more open to free trade than the Republicans close to Mr. Trump. "The Democrats are largely gone [from business] because the energy within the party has become much more focused on a number of issues managed by the government, "he said.

The chamber, a non-partisan organization that spends much more of its budget to defend specific policies than for political contributions, only supports a few Democrats who run for election this year, while in early 2008 it supported a much larger number of candidates approved by the party – a figure that has declined under the administration of Barack Obama.

Despite Ms. Vukmir's support for China's tariffs, there was still a considerable gap between her views and Ms. Baldwin's. "Politics is what we do when we think that there is a fundamental difference between candidates and not a shade of gray," said the second business lobbyist.