Multiple business organizations joined together to release “Imports Work for American Workers,” an economic impact study which found that imports support more than 21 million American jobs.
Arizona imported $7.9 billion in goods and merchandise from Mexico in 2017, 38% of Arizona’s $20.6 billion in global imports.
Arizona’s exports were valued at $19.7 billion in 2020, down 20.1% over the year due to the COVID recession. In 2019 exports accounted for 6.7% of the state’s GDP.
The new study focuses on the net impact of imports on U.S. jobs — including statistics on sectors such as retail, apparel, transportation, manufacturing and consumer technology. The study also looks at how imports support jobs in states across the U.S. as well as trade policy initiatives pending before Congress and the administration with the potential to preserve or diminish import-related jobs.
Among the key findings:
Imports support more than 21 million American jobs across the country, including a net positive number in every U.S. state. The 10 states accounting for the largest number of import-related jobs are California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.
Imports from key trading partners — including Canada, China, the European Union and Mexico — support a net positive number of U.S. jobs.
Import-related jobs are good jobs that pay competitive wages. Nearly 8 million of the jobs related to importing are held by minorities and 2.5 million jobs are held by workers represented by unions.
The vast majority (96 percent) of companies who import are small or medium-sized businesses.
U.S. trade policies, many now pending before Congress and the administration, have the potential to both support and hurt these jobs.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association, the American Chemistry Council, the Consumer Technology Association, the National Foreign Trade Council, the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Fashion Industry Association and the U.S. Global Value Chain Coalition commissioned the study.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has joined 19 other state attorneys general in calling on the U.S. Senate to reject David Chipman’s confirmation as director of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), citing concerns over his approach to public safety and Americans’ right to keep and bear arms.
In a letter sent to U.S. Senate Republican and Democratic leadership, the coalition of attorneys general outlined the threat President Joe Biden’s ATF nominee would pose to law-abiding gun owners if confirmed to lead the agency responsible for regulating firearms.
The attorneys general cite Chipman’s long history of anti-gun rights lobbying and activism.
The attorneys general ATF agents play an important role in upholding the public safety of communities around the country and will be disserved by an agency director with a political agenda.
“Its agents deserve a director who will inspire confidence from the people they serve. Given Mr. Chipman’s history of anti-gun lobbying and political activism, Americans cannot be reasonably expected to believe he will be an unbiased enforcer of current laws,” the attorneys general wrote. “As the chief legal and law enforcement officers in our respective states, we are concerned that Mr. Chipman will make Americans less safe by diverting ATF resources to attack the rights of law-abiding gun owners instead of cracking down on violent criminals and criminal organizations.”
The effort is led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. In addition to Attorney General Brnovich and Knudsen, attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri,
The U.S. Department of Interior has given its approval to the amended tribal-state gaming compact, finalizing an agreement to modernize gaming in Arizona that was signed in April by Governor Doug Ducey and the state’s tribal leaders.
“Gaming creates thousands of jobs for Arizonans, it generates tax revenue that benefits key areas of our communities, and it draws visitors to our state,” said Governor Ducey. “The tribal-state gaming compact amendment, along with its associated legislation, was the culmination of a multi-year process and I was proud to work with all the stakeholders on this historic accomplishment.”
On April 15, Governor Ducey joined state lawmakers and tribal leaders to sign House Bill 2772, and the amended tribal-state gaming compact. The legislation is part of a compromise that was negotiated in the amended gaming compact, which underwent the most significant modernization in almost two decades.
The compact amendment and the associated legislation took more than five years to negotiate, and it ensures gaming in Arizona remains limited and regulated while providing certainty for the future of the state and tribes.
A new survey showing that the vast majority of Arizonans support reducing the personal income tax rate was released this week by Americans for Prosperity-Arizona. Voters believe a tax reduction is important to spur economic growth and allow Arizonans to keep their own money, according to the survey.
According to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, Arizona has one of the highest marginal income tax rates in the country. Arizona also has a nearly $4 billion surplus for the 2022 fiscal year.
Americans for Prosperity-Arizona (AFP-AZ) is supporting a plan that would reduce the state personal income tax rate to 2.5% for all taxpayers, except for the highest bracket who will pay 4.5%, beginning in 2023,
AFP says the topline results of the survey demonstrate the following:
• Nearly two-thirds of Arizona voters believe it is time to reduce the personal income tax to make it flatter and fairer.
• 66% of surveyed voters said it’s very important to allow Arizona families to keep more of their own money, in addition to 62% saying it’s very important to allow small businesses to pay less in taxes so they can use their own money to grow and create jobs.
• Ensuring Arizona remains competitive with nearby states who have no income tax was also another reason surveyed voters supported reducing the income tax rate, with 53% of surveyed individuals saying that’s a very important reason as they considered the proposal.
“While Washington is working to pass some of the largest tax hikes in history, our state leaders are taking a different approach by letting Arizonans keep more of what they earn. Government digging deeper into our pockets won’t help small businesses hire more workers or meet the needs of Arizona families,” says AFP-AZ State Director Stephen Shadegg.
“Arizonans support this this pro-growth plan that would cement our state as a leader on tax reform and ensure we remain competitive with nearby states who don’t have an income tax. We are connecting with Arizonans across the state to tell them about this plan and enable them to tell their legislators they need to act now. We look forward to igniting Arizona’s economic recovery by making our tax system simpler, fairer, and flatter,” concluded Shadegg.
On Friday, Governor Doug Ducey today signed legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Weninger, that allows bars, liquor stores and restaurants to sell cocktails to-go. The bill is intended to mitigate the damage done to businesses due to the governor’s draconian shut down order due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March 2020, Ducey issued his draconian Executive Order restricting enforcement of regulations that prohibit sale and delivery of alcoholic beverages with the purchase of food to help mitigate the disasterous financial consequences of the pandemic-related pause on certain business operations.
House Bill 2773 permanently allows Arizona businesses the opportunity to offer to-go cocktails beyond the pandemic.
