Tariffs

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, Mr. President, on tariffs, this weekend, President Trump kick-started a golden age of higher costs for American families with his 25-percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico--two of our four biggest trading partners.

By issuing his tariffs, Donald Trump is yet again rigging the game for his billionaire friends while doing nothing to lower costs for American families. Thankfully, President Trump got immense blowback, and for now, he has decided to back off his nonsensical trade war with Mexico, but President Trump's retreat is not enough. He must also back off his tariffs on Canada or everyday Americans will see prices going up.

Listen to this: Economists predict that President Trump's tariffs are going to raise prices on American families by as much as $1,200 a year. Let me say that again. President Trump's tariffs are going to raise prices on families by as much as $1,200 a year.

To President Trump and his billionaire buddies, $1,200 may be chump change, but to most Americans, a $1,200 increase cost would be devastating. For most families, $1,200 could be the difference between putting food on the table or not, between affording medications or doctors' appointments or having to skip them.

Americans, do you worry about car prices? The Trump tariffs will raise your car prices. Do you use a car to get to work? The Trump tariffs will make gas prices go up.

And we should not listen at all to Donald Trump when he says it is about stopping fentanyl. That is nonsense. There are other ways to stop fentanyl without making inflation worse and raising costs on the American family. But Donald Trump clearly doesn't care. He said the American people need to suck it up and to accept that there would be ``some pain'' after his tariffs go into effect. That is outrageous. That is what an out-of-touch billionaire says.

Meanwhile, both sides of the ideological spectrum know the damage of these tariffs. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce--hardly a liberal group-- said President Trump's tariffs ``will only raise prices for American families and upend supply chains.''

Even The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board--again, no friend of liberals--said that President Trump's tariffs will result in ``the dumbest trade war in history.'' That is what this would be, as The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board said, ``the dumbest trade war in history.''

This is not what the American people want. Senate Democrats are not going to stand quiet as Donald Trump makes inflation worse. We will push legislation soon to protect people's bottom lines and stop the President from unilaterally plunging us into a trade war with our own allies.

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