Small Business Administration Chief Details Trump’s Carrot-And-Stick Economic Policies

At a Capitol Hill press conference Thursday, Kelly Loeffler, director of the Small Business Administration, laid out President Donald Trump’s carrot-and-stick strategy for returning manufacturing to the United States.

Loeffler joined Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, to promote the Made in America Act, which would increase to $10 million the limit on two different SBA loan programs to small manufacturers. Their limits are currently $5 million and $5.5 million.

Loeffler, a former senator from Georgia, presented a vision of an economy boosted by protecting American manufacturers with tariffs and removing burdensome regulations on them.

“President Trump made a commitment to stand with American workers, rebuild our industrial base and our domestic supply chains, and it is already restoring our national strength,” said Loeffler.

“Just one month later, 75 countries are at the negotiating table, restoring fair trade, and this administration is taking more steps to supercharge manufacturing today,” she added.

The Daily Signal asked how the SBA incentive fits in with Trump’s tariff strategy and whether Loeffler, Ernst, and Williams wanted tariffs to remain in order to push manufacturing to the United States.

“This is the carrot,” said Ernst of her bill. “This is for the little guy, not the big guy. So, our small manufacturers really need access to capital … . So, doubling the amount of the loans, those individual loans, will make a huge difference. It is a carrot to bring manufacturing into the United States.”

Ernst then invited Loeffler to speak on Trump’s tariff policy.

“Small businesses want a level playing field today. That is a carrot,” Loeffler agreed, adding:

And what we’re doing is using the stick with our allies and adversaries alike who have taken advantage of our country for far too long, who have hollowed out communities, that have decimated small businesses, that have [shrunk] the opportunities set for American workers.

Loeffler also suggested that tariffs and SBA loans were just two pieces in the process of undoing former President Joe Biden’s economic legacy.

“Tariffs are one part of the economic agenda that President Trump is so effectively executing. We’re talking tax cuts, deregulation. Under Biden, $1.7 trillion in excessive regulation was piled disproportionately on the backs of small businesses and our manufacturers,” she said, adding:

So, tariffs are one part of it. And taxes, deregulation, ensuring we have a skilled workforce, low energy prices—these are all things that are going to benefit small businesses in the near term and for the long term.

Willians then chimed in: “I’m a car dealer, so [if] you want to talk about tariffs, you’re talking to the guy right here. I’m not afraid of tariffs.”

He added: “When I travel all over the country, and I talk to the people in business like me, they’re not talking about tariffs. They need access to capital.

“This bill does that. Plus, you couple it with tax cuts they’re going to get. Now you’re cooking. So, tariffs are one thing, but most importantly is this: Access to capital is the biggest thing we can do for Main Street revenue.”

The post Small Business Administration Chief Details Trump’s Carrot-And-Stick Economic Policies appeared first on The Daily Signal.