Wyden Blasts Trump Tariffs, Urges Bipartisan Support of Bill to Protect Consumers from Trade War
As Prepared for Delivery
Watch the video of Wyden’s remarks on the Senate floor here
I rise to support my colleague Senator Shaheen’s request for unanimous consent to pass the “Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes on Imported Goods Act.” This is a straightforward bill. All it does is clarify that the President’s emergency powers can’t be used to put tariffs on the things Americans buy from other countries.
Donald Trump calls himself a “tariff man”—and he’s exactly right. It’s the only answer he has to any problem. Instead of taking time to think through actual solutions, he’s willing to use any authority he can find to slap tariffs on our trading partners. Just today Trump announced he was slapping 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which are 2 of our 3 largest trading partners and closest allies. That’s going to raise costs for Americans on gasoline, cars, fruits and vegetables, and many other products.
It’s also going to cost American jobs because Canada and Mexico have announced plans to retaliate against our exports. That’s the opposite of what Trump pledged to the American people.
It’s disturbing that Donald Trump is going rogue and using emergency powers to pursue his tariffs. The American people voted for lower prices. Donald Trump campaigned on the promise that he would lower costs on day one of his presidency. But just over a month in, all Trump has managed to do is gut the agencies in charge of protecting consumers and going after predatory corporations, and land us in trade wars that will drive up the cost of goods people use every day.
Whether it’s to punish a country that he doesn’t like or settle scores with foreign leaders, the only answer Donald Trump ever has is tariffs. He’s going to drive up prices and costs for American families, businesses, and farmers in the process. He does it because he and his billionaire friends won’t feel the impacts, and they don’t care about the millions of Americans who will.
These higher costs essentially add up to a “Trump Tax” on everything from food to clothes and cars.
Anyone who voted for Donald Trump because they wanted lower prices and a fairer economy has a right to feel betrayed by his economic sabotage. This bill we’re trying to pass today would rein in some of Trump’s worst impulses and clarify that the laws on the books were never meant to be a blank check for the President to abuse tariffs by using them as a punishment against any country that hurts his feelings. A number of our Republican colleagues have supported this proposal in the past—because putting a check on the president’s power to land us in trade wars shouldn’t be partisan or controversial. It’s just common sense.
I want to thank my colleague from New Hampshire for her leadership on this issue. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
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