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Floor Speech
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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, just about an hour ago, the President announced a tariff agreement with South Korea. But if past is prologue, this so-called deal with South Korea is one where U.S. families will pay more. It will increase their costs with the rise in tariffs of 15 percent. It is one where bold promises are made that billions in investments will come our way but with no substance to back it up. It seems to be just another one of these so-called deals that hurt the American people.
Earlier this morning, we got more warning signs that Donald Trump's foolish trade war is taking its toll on the U.S. economy. According to the New York Times, the ``U.S. Economy Slowed in [the] First Half of 2025 as Tariffs Scrambled Data.'' ``Scrambled'' is precisely the right word or you might call it chaos because from the moment that Donald Trump announced his so-called ``Liberation Day,'' his tariffs have ushered a season of pandemonium for markets, small businesses, retailers, and families.
Just today, Ford, one of the biggest American car manufacturers, announced that these tariffs will end up costing the company $2 billion a year. Big retailers like Walmart or Amazon and others have at one point or another warned of price hikes for everyday goods like clothes, appliances, and toys. The American people are worried about the increased costs of the things they buy, and yet these tariffs even raise those costs higher.
This sure doesn't sound like a golden age to me, and nor does the $2,400 that households will pay extra on average under this tariff scheme by the President. Instead, do you know what this sounds like? It sounds like a national sales tax on the American people, plain and simple. That is what Donald Trump's tariffs are--a national sales tax on families and small businesses.
On August 1, if Donald Trump doesn't change course, a whole new slew of tariffs on dozens of countries will come into effect and tax the living daylights out of households and businesses even more.
Look, nobody is fooled by Donald Trump's ruse. My Republican colleagues in their private moments know that Donald Trump is a BS artist when it comes to tariffs. His pattern is always the same: He makes wild promises, he talks a big game, but he never seems to follow through. He lies about what he says. He blames others.
Just look at the so-called deal with Japan. Donald Trump hailed it for supposedly delivering $550 billion in investments, but almost immediately--almost immediately--the Japanese Government said the real investments would be less than 2 percent of that figure.
What nerve for Donald Trump to mislead the American people on these tariffs, but he does it over and over again.
What about his supposed deal with the European Union? Again, Donald Trump howled from the mountaintops, saying that Europe would buy $750 billion worth of American energy and would make $600 billion in new investments in the United States, but immediately, typically, after the announcement was made, it was painfully obvious that those numbers were essentially made up. The EU stated publicly that the agreement was nonbinding and they had no real plan to back it up.
Tonight, the South Korea deal doesn't sound much different--a big increase, a sales tax on the American people--15 percent is a lot--and bold promises of investments that are made that never materialize, that almost vanish the day after they are announced.
The only parts of these deals that are real are the real costs Americans will pay out of their pockets. Grocery prices will go up. Everyday goods prices will go up. But savings, earnings, and prosperity in this country for American families will go down.
Meanwhile, is Donald Trump being tough on China like he wants people to think? Of course not. On the contrary, he is giving the Chinese Government greater access to U.S. semiconductors that are vital-- vital--for our national security. Where it counts the absolute most, which is getting tough on China, Donald Trump is acting like a pushover. By sending them these sophisticated chips, they are going to allow China to catch up to us in things like AI and many other new technological advances. A few years back, we worked hard to see that these vital chips were not sent to China, but in one fell swoop, without any real explanation as to the damage it will do, Donald Trump reversed it.
Democrats have been fighting back against these catastrophes from the start. I am disappointed. Just a few minutes ago, our Republican colleagues chose fealty to Trump over relief to the American people by blocking Senator Shaheen's bill and also Senator Welch's bill that would have halted many of Donald Trump's tariffs and would have protected so many American small businesses.
The right answer here was so glaringly obvious, but Republicans elected to worship at Donald Trump's altar yet again, even though they know these tariffs are terrible for people back home. Republicans are going to have to explain to the people back home why they are so OK with increasing their costs and abandoning them to Donald Trump's endless tariff chaos.
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