Chamber of Commerce asks Trump administration for tariff exclusions to "stave off a recession"
CBSN
As Small Business Month kicks off, the Chamber of Commerce is speaking out against the Trump administration's trade policy, saying recently imposed tariffs could do serious damage to America's Main Street.
In a letter sent to the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday, Suzanne Clark, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, asks for an "automatic exclusion" from new tariffs for U.S. small businesses that import goods from abroad. Small businesses do not have the margin or capital reserves to survive an increase in tariffs, Clark wrote in the letter.
"The Chamber requests the administration take immediate action to save America's small businesses and stave off a recession," she wrote.

As the Trump administration continues to prepare military options for strikes in Iran, U.S. allies in the Mideast, including Turkey, Oman and Qatar, are attempting to head off that possibility by brokering diplomatic talks, multiple regional officials told CBS News. Camilla Schick and Eleanor Watson contributed to this report.

Another winter storm may be headed toward the East Coast of the United States this weekend, on the heels of a powerful and deadly system that blanketed huge swaths of the country in snow and ice. The effects of that original storm have lingered for many areas in its path, and will likely remain as repeated bouts of Arctic air plunge downward from Canada and drive temperatures below freezing. Nikki Nolan contributed to this report. In:











