Austin Keating at SNIPS News reports that at the annual meeting of the Spiral Duct Manufacturers Association (SPIDA) in May, Industry Leaders from both the Union and Non-Union sides of the Sheet Metal Industry gathered to confront a common problem: How to plan around trade policy in a climate that feels radically more uncertain than just a few years ago. Stan Kolbe, who serves as Executive Director of Government and Political Affairs at the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA), says the environment for contractors now is “far more challenging” than when the 2017 tax code was written during the first Trump Administration. But to deal with the impact of tariffs, the Sheet Metal Industry and wider U.S. Chamber of Commerce is calling for tax relief. “We’re in a declining economy with sinking revenues, frozen projects, infrastructure claw-backs and spiking material costs on top of rising supply chain barriers,” Kolbe said, noting Trump plans to use a “big, beautiful” Tax Cut Bill to bring tariff relief is fraught, as hardliners in his party will not agree to substantial tax cuts without significant cuts to spending, including politically unpalatable cuts to Medicare. “We need the 2017 code on steroids with significant targeted relief for tariffs created dislocations: Bonus depreciation; expensing of equipment (including the tariff fee); etc.,” Kolbe said. “The economic patient needs more of a transfusion this time around.”

To Continue Reading This Labor News Story, Go To: Sheet Metal Leaders Call for Tax Cuts to Tamp Down Tariffs’ Impact on the HVAC Industry | ACHR News