Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Denouncing Donald Trump’s Plan To Enact A Tsunami Of Tariffs On Allied Countries, Driving Up Costs For American Consumers

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor denouncing the incoming slew of tariffs Donald Trump plans to enact against allied countries, detailing how his so-called “liberation day” will drive up costs for American consumers and upend the economy. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

This week, Donald Trump is preparing to take a sledgehammer to the American economy by preparing a tsunami of tariffs on all sorts of goods Americans purchase every day. A tsunami of tariffs.

Let’s be clear: Donald Trump’s tariffs are a tax hike on American families.

The average costs families will have to pay for groceries, gas, and everyday goods will go up by thousands, thousands, of dollars a year. Money out of hardworking people’s pockets will pay for these tariffs.

And Donald Trump has the gall to call his trade war liberation day. That makes as much sense as calling a layoff notice a promotion letter.

The Trump administration clearly has no strategy or goal behind their tariffs. One minute, they say that tariffs will lead to more people buying America-made goods.

But Peter Navarro said yesterday that tariffs will also raise trillions in revenue.

This is a total contradiction. You can’t use tariffs to both raise revenue and bring jobs back.

The only way you raise that much in revenue is if Americans pay that much for goods made abroad.  And that means consumers will hurt most.

Donald Trump knows his plan will send costs surging. He said he “hopes” automakers raise their prices.  Spoken like a true billionaire.

Donald Trump is saying, I hope automakers will raise their prices. Okay, Mr. And Mrs. Consumer, Mr. And Mrs. Average American Family: Donald Trump wants you to pay more while he's giving tax cuts to billionaires.

Where are Senate Republicans? Where are they? They always just go along with whatever Trump wants, no matter how idiotic.

Senate Republicans should be shouting from the rooftops to get the president to reverse course on tariffs. People in red states will be especially impacted, from farmers to small businesses.

Republicans should be swarming the Senate floor with statements calling on the president to change his mind. But their response has been so feeble, so weak, almost nonexistent, that Americans are right to question whose side they’re really on.

The worst part is nobody knows what these tariffs will look like, perhaps not even Donald Trump. On a slow day, he changes his mind about them only once a day. He seems to change his mind about them almost every hour.

This is not what the American people want. Americans detest the chaos and unpredictability that Donald Trump brings.

No surprise: more and more Americans disapprove of his handling of the economy.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is on track for its worst quarter, compared to the rest of the world, since the 1980s.

Consumer confidence is at its worst since Donald Trump’s first term. Outlook for the economy is at a 12-year low. Household debt is on the rise.

Donald Trump’s trade war is playing Russian roulette with the American economy.

And it will be households, retirees, consumers, average families that pay the price.

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