Overview
- The Wall Street Journal published an internal April 2025 email showing Britt’s legislative director asked the U.S. Trade Representative for tariff exclusions for specific Alabama companies.
- The request named TNT Fireworks, Novelis, Kronospan and Airbus and warned that the policy had made an Airbus assembly project financially unviable and threatened local jobs.
- The USTR told the Journal that it “does not have an exemption process at this time,” leaving unclear whether formal relief could be granted.
- Britt publicly defended President Trump’s tariff agenda after a Supreme Court decision affected an earlier scheme and told the Journal she will continue to press for Alabama manufacturers both privately and publicly.
- The Journal’s editorial framed the episode as part of a wider pattern of GOP lawmakers seeking local carveouts, and other outlets amplified the disclosure while noting there is still no public record that any of the named firms received tariff relief.