BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Wall Street Journal editorial board is criticizing U.S. Sen. Katie Britt for publicly defending President Donald Trump’s broad tariff policy while her office previously sought exemptions for Alabama manufacturers affected by the import taxes.
In a Sept. 14 editorial headlined “One Senator’s Plea for Tariff Breaks,” the Journal said Britt’s legislative director sent the White House an email about “specific Alabama manufacturers” and sought relief from tariffs affecting companies in industries including fireworks, recycled aluminum, wood panels and aircraft manufacturing.
The editorial contrasted those requests with a public statement Britt made in February after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s emergency tariff program. Britt said at the time that Trump’s tariffs “work” and that the United States should not return to “allowing American jobs and manufacturing to be sidelined in exchange for cheap junk from foreign adversaries.”
The Journal, whose editorial page generally supports conservative economic policies and has been sharply critical of Trump’s tariff agenda, argued that the episode illustrates a broader problem with tariffs: They can create pressure on elected officials to seek government-selected exemptions for businesses in their states.
According to the editorial, Britt’s office sought assistance for multiple Alabama manufacturers. In one request involving an Airbus facility in Alabama, a Britt aide told the White House that trade policy had made a project “financially unviable” and warned of a potential loss of “high-quality American jobs.” The Journal did not establish whether the companies received the requested tariff relief.
Britt’s office defended the senator’s advocacy for Alabama businesses while maintaining support for Trump’s broader trade approach.
“To support Alabama’s manufacturing growth, Senator Britt will continue to advocate for thoughtful policies with the Trump Administration, both in private deliberations and through public hearings,” Britt said in a response quoted by the Journal.
She also defended Trump’s break with earlier U.S. trade policy, saying previous administrations had treated globalization as “a costless victory,” according to the Journal’s account.
The dispute lands as tariff policy continues to affect manufacturers and import-dependent businesses nationwide. Trump’s administration has pursued tariffs through several legal authorities, even after the Supreme Court ruled in February that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not authorize the president’s earlier emergency-based tariffs. The decision did not automatically invalidate tariffs imposed under other trade laws, including national-security tariffs under Section 232 and certain China-related tariffs under Section 301.
For Alabama, the question is especially consequential because the state’s economy depends heavily on manufacturing, including auto production, aerospace, metals and construction-related industries that can rely on imported parts, raw materials and equipment. Tariffs can raise costs for companies that import such inputs, while supporters argue they can protect domestic producers from foreign competition.
Britt has also demonstrated a willingness to challenge Trump on trade-related decisions when Alabama industries are at stake. In August, she urged Trump to reconsider a plan to suspend tariffs on imported foreign beef, citing concerns from Alabama cattle producers.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board’s criticism, however, focused on the apparent gap between advocating tariffs as a national economic policy and seeking exceptions when those tariffs create costs for companies in Alabama.
“Tariffs for thee, exemptions for me,” the editorial board wrote.