Republicans Split on Wisdom of New Tariffs; Democrats Also Not Unified in Opposition

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the Republican original co-sponsor of an effort to rescind tariffs on Canada, said in a video interview with The Hill: "It's a fallacy to think it will help the country. Tariffs are a tax. If you tax trade, you'll get less of it. As international trade has increased, so has the prosperity of our country. Really, so has the prosperity of the entire world."

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters before the announcement, "We'll see how these tariff negotiations play out. If President [Donald] Trump is successful in reducing tariffs ... by forcing negotiations and getting tariffs down overall, I'm going to say amen. If he's unsuccessful, I'll say I told you so."

The day after the tariff reveal, Grassley co-sponsored a bill with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that would not allow tariffs imposed by the White House to endure more than 60 days without congressional assent (see 2504030018). However, that bill would not affect any of the existing Section 232, Section 301 or International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs.

He expressed pessimism about the chances of reining in delegation of trade authorities during that earlier interview, however, saying, "I'm not holding my breath on when we get that job done."

Former Republican majority leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., one of four Republicans to vote to end the tariffs on Canada, tweeted, "As I have always warned, tariffs are bad policy, and trade wars with our partners hurt working people most. Tariffs drive up the cost of goods and services. They are a tax on everyday working Americans. Preserving the long-term prosperity of American industry and workers requires working with our allies, not against them. With so much at stake globally, the last thing we need is to pick fights with the very friends with whom we should be working with to protect against China’s predatory and unfair trade practices."

But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., offered a full-throated endorsement online. "President Trump is sending a clear message with Liberation Day: America will not be exploited by unfair trade practices anymore. These tariffs restore fair and reciprocal trade and level the playing field for American workers and innovators. The President understands that FREE trade ONLY works when it’s FAIR!"

House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., focused on the leverage, rather than the tariffs themselves. "Reducing trade barriers is necessary to ensuring American farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, small businesses, and innovators can sell their products in other markets. President Trump has made it clear other countries can avoid tariffs by reducing or eliminating their existing barriers to U.S. products."

Most Democrats slammed the tariffs as hiking costs for families, like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., did on CNN. "The tariffs that Trump proposed this afternoon are even worse than we thought. In addition to all the other bad things in these tariffs, he's added a 10% additional tariff on everything. And what does that mean? It's a huge tax on the average American family. The average American family will pay approximately $5,000 more each year."

Finance Committee member Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., issued a statement saying, “As a representative of one of the most trade-dependent economies in America, I disagree with President Trump's tariffs. His announcement today will hurt sectors we care about: agriculture, manufacturing, and tech. It's time for Congress to take action to counter the president's trade war."

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said on the floor of the Senate that with the stock market declining and the chance of a recession increasing, "that sure doesn't feel like a liberation to me."

"American companies will have to pay more to import goods. And in turn, the American people will have to pay more to buy those products. Donald Trump knows this. It’s not that he doesn’t know; it’s that he doesn’t care. And those aren’t my words -- they’re his," he added. Trump had said that he didn't care if the prices of imported cars went up, because that would lead Americans to buy those assembled in the U.S.

Of course, with an integrated auto production supply chain, it's not that simple, the House Ways and Means Democrats pointed out. They linked to a news story about how 900 auto parts workers are being furloughed as Stellantis temporarily halted production of the Chrysler minivans in Canada and Jeep Compass and Wagoneers in Mexico. Those U.S. workers supply the Mexican Jeep plant or Canadian Chrysler plant. "Another 900 livelihoods are paying the price of Trump's economic illiteracy," the tweet said.

However, another tweet from the account, sharing a letter from Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairwoman Linda Sanchez, signaled the lack of unanimity among Democrats on whether a broad hike in tariffs is a good idea. Sanchez wrote, "House Democrats must think of the bigger picture. Don't play into his game and let him claim any wins."

But not all Democrats echoed the language of tariffs as taxes, raising prices for families. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., a longtime trade skeptic, didn't hail the news, but didn't directly criticize the tariffs -- instead, she said Trump's moves to undercut ILAB (Bureau of International Labor Affairs) and manufacturing incentives passed in the Inflation Reduction Act make his approach incomplete.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, who often broke with former President Joe Biden on votes, tweeted that he is still digesting the tariffs, but said, "What I can say now is I’m pleased the president is building his tariff agenda on the foundation of a universal 10 percent tariff like the one I proposed in the BUILT USA Act. This ring fence around the American economy is a good start to erasing our unsustainable trade deficits. I’m eager to work with the president to fix the broken 'free trade' system that made multinational corporations rich but ruined manufacturing communities across the country." However, he said the government also needs to support apprenticeships and unions, and that tariff revenue should subsidize domestic manufacturing. "Tariffs are a first step in rewriting a rigged trade system, but they cannot be the last one," he wrote.