Trump has been great for black Americans, but the trade war could hinder the progress

President Donald Trump was in Columbia recently to participate in the 2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum at Benedict College.

The forum was an opportunity for the president to talk about the work he has done to reform the criminal justice system, and also highlight his record of helping the African American community.

Last year Trump signed the First Step Act, one of the most significant reforms to our criminal justice system in decades.

The bill, which Trump shepherded through Congress, provides sentencing relief to nonviolent federal offenders who were affected by mandatory minimum laws; in all, it has led to the release of more than 500 nonviolent offenders.

In addition, the bill provides job training to offenders to help them make an easier transition into civil society once they are released from federal prisons.

But in reality the First Step Act is just one example of the great work that President Trump has done to help advance this nation’s African American community.

For example, the Trump administration has:

▪ Used opportunity zones to spark economic activity in underserved African American communities by incentivizing private sector investment in these areas while also attracting money and jobs.

▪ Reduced the unemployment rate among African Americans to its lowest point ever (in fact, the city of Columbia — which is 40 percent African American — is enjoying its lowest unemployment numbers in more than two decades).

All of these accomplishments have resulted from Trump’s inclusive agenda to uplift all Americans. It is why I support the president, and it is why I want to see the president succeed (and our country, too, in the process).

I am concerned, however, that the president’s record of fighting for so many in the African American community could be tarnished by the mounting showdown on tariffs and trade policies.

It could derail all of the progress that has been made.

Tariffs are taxes that American businesses and consumers pay on goods that have been imported from overseas, and particularly from China.

America has been involved in a trade war for several months now, and during that period South Carolina’s imports and exports have been hit with more than $1 billion in additional taxes.

In addition the fallout from the uncertainty that has been created by the trade war has slowed manufacturing and investment in South Carolina.

For example, a plant in Allendale County — one of the poorest counties in South Carolina and one with a population that is nearly 75 percent African American — recently laid off workers because the trade war has made it too expensive to manufacture products or compete abroad.

And while it is true that opportunity zones have the potential to help grow the economies of underserved African American communities, their impact might be weakened if tariffs keep forcing residents in those communities to pay more for necessities like groceries and clothes.

That’s why I hope the Trump administration is successful in hammering out a deal with China that would eliminate harmful tariffs.

President Trump has been fighting hard for the nation’s African American community, and we have been reaping the rewards of his efforts. The one thing that could threaten this progress, however, is the trade war — and that’s why I hope that President Trump will do whatever he can to end it.

Stephen Gilchrist is chairman of the South Carolina African American Chamber of Commerce.