Top Democrats have slammed Donald Trump’s plans to impose serious tariffs on America’s neighbors and allies, warning that they will hit working families and small businesses hard.
Chuck Schumer, the minority leader in the US senate, led the charge by saying the president’s threatened tariffs would likely “hit Americans in their wallets”. “It would be nice if Donald Trump could start focusing on getting the prices down instead of making them go up.”
Schumer added that the White House should set its sights on “competitors who rig the game, like China, rather than attacking our allies”.
Trump has set in train 25% import taxes for Canada and Mexico across all products other than Canadian energy which will face a 10% tariff. China will also have 10% tariffs, with the new impositions scheduled to start on Tuesday.
While the trio of affected countries are preparing retaliatory moves, with China saying it will lodge a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the US, Democratic leaders are flagging potentially devastating consequences domestically for American workers.
Ken Martin, who was chosen to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee on Saturday, said that blanket tariffs would cost working families while Trump would ensure that corporations get a pass.
“He’s using American workers as pawns in his petty political games. If a president promised that they’d help my family get by, and then they did this, I’d be pretty pissed off. So, you should be pissed off,” Martin said in a statement.
Trump made a rare concession to his detractors on Sunday, admitting that their could be negative consequences of his hostile act. On his Truth Social feed, he said: “WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!). BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID.”
Lest anyone confuse his statement with contrition or change of heart, Trump put out a separate post repeating his trolling invitation to Canada to join the union. “Canada should become our Cherished 51st State. Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada – AND NO TARIFFS!”
In a largely symbolic gesture, given Republican control of both chambers of Congress, two Democratic senators have introduced a bill to force Trump to seek congressional approval for implementing any tariffs on trading partners. The bill, crafted by Chris Coons from Delaware and Tim Kaine from Virginia, would require the president to explain his plan and its impact on the US economy and foreign policy.
“If the president is going abuse this power to bully and coerce our allies, Congress should take this authority back,” Coons said in a statement.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Kaine said that he was struck by the “irony” that Trump issued an emergency order on energy then days later slapped 10% tariffs on Canadian energy. “He is increasing prices at the pump, and you will start to see it in the next couple of days. At the same time he is saying there’s an energy emergency – the emergency is self created.”
Deep anxiety about the prudence of Trump’s aggressive move is also being expressed by parties who are normally allied with the president.
The US Chamber of Commerce, a powerful force in conservative politics, said that Trump was making a mistake in thinking that tariffs could solve the problem of immigration across US borders and fentanyl flowing into the country.
“The imposition of tariffs is unprecedented, won’t solve these problems and will only raise prices for American families and upend supply chains,” the chamber’s John Murphy told CNN.
European figures reacted with dismay to the turmoil. On Sunday, asked about Trump’s weekend moves, European Central Bank policymaker Klaas Knot said he expects new tariffs will lead to higher inflation and interest rates in the US that will likely weaken the euro.
The German opposition leader and frontrunner to become the next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, on Sunday expressed his concern. “Tariffs have never been a good idea for resolving trade policy conflicts,” he said at his CDU conservative party convention.
In Britain senior cabinet minister Yvette Cooper said that Trump’s tariff plans could have a “really damaging impact” on the global economy and growth. The top Labour figure said the UK wanted to break down trade barriers, not put them up. “Tariff increases really right across the world can have a really damaging impact on global growth and trade, so I don’t think it’s what anybody wants to see,” she said.
Other experts also warned about the potential impact.
“It’s only a matter of time before the EU is targeted,” said Marchel Alexandrovich, an economist at Saltmarsh Economics in London. “The fact that Canada is responding and putting up tariffs against US goods is a sign of things to come and demonstrates the risks to global trade.”
At the same time Canada said it will stand firm in the trade war.
“I think the Canadian people are going to expect that our government stands firm and stands up for itself,” Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the US told ABC News.
She added: “We’re not at all interested in escalating, but I think that there will be a very strong demand on our government to make sure that we stand up for the deal that we have struck with the United States.”
