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Barrett, SBA leader tout Trump economic policies in Lansing
LANSING — U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett and the leader of the U.S. Small Business Administration visited a longtime Lansing business on April 2, touting the Trump Administration's efforts to reshore industry, help small businesses and cut taxes for middle-class Americans.
"Retail sales are going up," SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said at Campbell Press Repair on River Street in the REO Town neighborhood. "When you look at main street spending, those that hire and build main streets, that confidence is back. After four tough years, we see all the economic indicators going in the right direction."
Loeffler and Barrett, the Charlotte Republican who represents the 7th Congressional District, also met with the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce on Thursday. Media were invited to follow them through Campbell Press' facility.
Campbell Press repairs machines that forge parts and has been around for 53 years. It has about 30 employees. Barrett and Loeffler cited it as an example of how Trump's economic policies are working.
They said reshoring manufacturing benefits national security.
"You cannot defend your country if you can't build things in your country," Barrett said. "It's a critical thing. It wasn't long ago that if you walked around here in Lansing, you'd see Oldmosbile cranking out cars here. You go over to Flint and there was Buick City not long ago. Look at Flint today. It's obviously vastly different than it was a generation or two ago."
Of course, President Donald Trump's economic policies, including his use of tariffs, have drawn plenty of criticism. And gas prices have surged since the Iran war began.
"President Donald Trump’s decision to initiate a war against Iran has roiled the global economy," the Center for American Progress, a liberal group, said in an April 2 news release. "The most significant impact so far has been the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of global oil supplies transit. The combined financial toll of the war has imposed new tradeoffs on the federal budget and increased prices for millions of American consumers."