Washington Examiner | Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government
The simple reality is Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and foreign countries like China and India must not buy Iranian oil. The most important lesson from the prolonged Strait of Hormuz closure is that an overreliance on foreign countries for critical products supporting U.S. economic and national security harms America.
Having served in the U.S. Congress for 14 years and as Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security, I have a vested interest in the strength of our critical minerals and materials that form the bedrock of our national security. Weak Democratic leadership for years favored “globalist” trade policies that offshored millions of American manufacturing jobs and did not favor energy independence.
The No. 1 culprit in years past has consistently been China, followed by India and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The Chinese Communist Party strategically subsidizes the manufacturing of affiliated Chinese companies, pushing prices down to unsustainable levels for competitors who operate in the free market. Meanwhile, American manufacturers are the first to pay the price when these products are dumped into America. In recent years, India has become the new China, as they flood the U.S. with cheap, inferior materials, often originating from socialist countries.
Fortunately, Trump is on a mission to hold foreign countries that cheat accountable. Historic antidumping and countervailing cases, such as the petitions brought forward by the cabinet, countertop and steel industries, demonstrated that U.S. manufacturers are eager to continue investing in America and willing to fight for their survival.
(Shannon Venditti/Washington Examiner)
While Trump’s strong 50% tariff is working to rebuild certain domestic industries like steel and aluminum, others remain in limbo as import surges continue to decimate manufacturing towns across America’s heartland. For example, while consumer demand for housing products such as quartz countertops has risen by 62% in the past five years, imports have flooded into the country, increasing by 78%, while U.S. manufacturing is down nearly 20% with plants laying off hundreds of workers. As foreign companies subsidized by their own governments get rich, thousands of American families feel the pain.
Trump recognizes what is happening and is targeting countries complicit in China’s cheating with a broad range of national security tariffs. Once again, major American industries are also stepping up to the plate, with a coalition of quartz countertop manufacturers bringing forward a historic Global Safeguard case to restore free and fair trade. Already, the bipartisan U.S. International Trade Commission has recommended strong relief in recognition of the severe injury inflicted by India, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and foreign countries destroying 100,000 American jobs.
Multi-billion-dollar “globalist” importers like MSI with major operations in India are clearly suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, bankrolling Trump-hating Democrats, and seeking to destroy manufacturing towns all across America. The truth is that Trump will never stop fighting for the millions of forgotten men and women of America who stood with him in 2024. These American manufacturing workers in small towns will stand with Trump again in the midterm elections if he keeps fighting for them and their families from Georgia to Minnesota and across America’s heartland.
TO END THE IRAN THREAT, AMERICA MUST DISMANTLE THE REGIME’S FOUNDATIONS
As Trump fights to bring back millions of domestic manufacturing jobs, from steel to semiconductors to household items such as quartz countertops and cabinetry, we must not cave to globalist special interests. To protect our economic and national security, we must hold India, China, and all foreign countries that cheat accountable.
As the Iranian leadership chants “death to America” and seeks support from rogue regimes, now is the time to stand strong and rally around Trump, who is laser-focused on bringing back critical domestic industries and keeping America safe. With the midterm elections approaching, let’s remember that Trump is following the Reagan doctrine of “Peace Through Strength” and know that under his strong leadership, the best is yet to come.
Congressman Jeff Duncan served as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on energy and grid security. The congressman served seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2025.
