Regarding the May 31 op-ed, “Tariffs That Are as Dumb as Rocks:”

In their recent opinion piece on tariffs recommended by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to address serious import injury, the Editorial Board misses the mark.

The Editorial Board suggests that a “handful” of domestic quartz slab producers want to use U.S. safeguard law to “hurt the competition: American quartz fabricators who use imported slabs.” Firstly, this “handful” represents the vast majority of the domestic industry. Moreover, fabricators are customers, not competitors. Rather than hurt fabricators, this trade case is about providing temporary trade relief for manufacturers and fabricators to compete fairly with foreign competitors as imports decimate our manufacturing base. 

The Editorial Board also quotes Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who has received over $20,000 in political donations from MS International Inc. (MSI), a multi-billion dollar foreign manufacturer subject to this ITC investigation. Contrary to Rep. Krishnamoorthi’s claims, quartz slab imports increased by 78.3% from 2020-2024, while domestic production declined by 17.2% over the same period and two U.S. companies closed their factories because of imports. 

Further, warning of “costlier homes,” the Editorial Board fails to clarify the true impact any temporary tariffs would have on housing prices. According to the ITC, the cost of imported quartz surface products represents only 0.07% of the average cost of a new home.

Ultimately, safeguard trade relief is about saving 100,000 American jobs from foreign companies seeking to offshore the domestic industry.

Luke Meisner, Legal Counsel, Quartz Manufacturing Alliance of America 

Washington, D.C.