Massachusetts mayor asks U.S. to drop tariffs on Chinese rail cars

Mayor Domenic Sarno of Springfield, Massachusetts, has asked the Trump administration to end tariffs on Chinese-built rail cars.

In a letter obtained by New England Public Radio, Sarno told U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer that the tariffs would increase the cost of Chinese-made rail cars, which would eventually affect publicly funded projects and penalize taxpayers.

China Railway Rolling Stock Corp. (CRRC) has built a $95 million rail-car facility in Springfield that opened this year. The company is building rail cars for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) passenger-rail lines.

"It is CRRC's first North American facility and its success is critical to our city and region's economy, bringing back manufacturing and skilled labor to our city," Sarno wrote. "That success is tied not only to the production and jobs created by CRRC, but the supply chain of smaller local businesses that are feeding the facility and creating good-paying jobs for our residents."

CRRC spokeswoman Lydia Rivera told New England Public Radio that the tariffs would raise the cost of the MBTA's order.