The effects of the Coronavirus or COVID-19 are being felt across the country and throughout the world. All levels of government and industry are taking steps to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.

Federal Government Response

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed a second stimulus bill aimed at helping Americans suffering from the economic effects of COVID-19. The multi-billion-dollar bill, already passed by the U.S. House, now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. Work is underway on a third stimulus package that is speculated to inject $1 trillion into the U.S. economy.

Government Engagement

ALA members have been resilient to periods of economic uncertainty. The rise and fall of the housing market, crashes associated with the stock market, and most recently, the placement of additional tariffs on a majority of lighting related products have all had their impacts on businesses, jobs and consumer buying power.

This week ALA engaged government leaders at the highest level to ask for relief from these additional tariffs – noting that suspending the tariffs would bring immediate relief. ALA tweeted a letter directly to President Trump, and sent a letter to his top two trade advisors: Larry Kudlow, Director of the National Economic Council; and Peter Navarro, Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy.

ALA letter to President Trump

ALA letter to top two trade advisors

Take Action

ALA also initiated a grassroots effort, asking members to contact their Member of Congress and encourage them to send a letter on ALA’s behalf asking for the President to suspend the Section 301 tariffs. Visit ALA’s Facebook page to take action. There you will see a suggested message to your Member of Congress and the link to the letter they can send to the President. That letter is also available here: ALA message to Member of Congress

Fly-in Update

Last week, ALA made the hard decision to cancel its 2020 D.C. fly-in due to protect the health and safety of this year’s participants. This year’s event focused on three main areas:

• achieving relief from tariffs
• promoting federal common-sense energy-efficiency regulatory action
• enforcing federal preemption policies

ALA will stay engaged on these and other issues that are important to our members.

Additional Resources

Throughout the lighting industry, reports are coming in from ALA members that are taking necessary precautions to protect their staff and their customers. The CDC website has additional resources for businesses and employers.

Additional resources

Please email Michael Weems at Michael@ALALighting.com with any questions about ALA’s government engagement efforts. Working together is our best opportunity to impact President Trump and remove the tariff burden on the lighting industry.

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