Schumer Vows To Block Any Authorization for Tariffs Trump Seeks on Capitol Hill

Senator Chuck Schumer says he and Senate Democrats will block any attempt by President Trump to authorize his tariffs on foreign imports should he come to Congress for approval. With the Supreme Court having declared many of his previous import taxes illegal, Mr. Trump will have to seek congressional authorization going forward if he wants to use his tariff power. Shortly after the court said that the president overstepped his authority by imposing tariffs, Mr. Trump announced that he would use different mechanisms to place taxes on goods coming into the United States. At a press conference, he said he would institute a ten percent tariff on goods from all nations, though he later said on Truth Social that the number would be going up to 15 percent. The law Mr. Trump is using to take that step is the Trade Act of 1974, which grants the president much narrower powers in regulating trade compared to how he had been using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which was the basis for his “Liberation Day” tariffs. The Trade Act states that Mr. Trump may only levy tariffs up to 15 percent, and only for 150 days without congressional authorization. If the new tariff takes effect on Tuesday morning, which is what is currently planned, then the House and Senate will have to vote by the end of July to permit the president to continue using his tariff power. In the Senate, it would take 60 votes to end debate on any bill to extend these new tariffs, meaning that Democrats have the power to block a bill giving the president more authority. “Following his defeat at the hands of the Supreme Court, Donald Trump is doubling down on his reign of economic chaos. Donald Trump’s 15 percent global tariffs will continue to raise prices and make life unaffordable for millions of Americans,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement Monday, ensuring that he and his colleagues would stand firm. “Senate Democrats will continue to fight back against Trump’s tariff tax, and will block any attempt to extend these harmful tariffs when they expire this summer. Democrats will not go along with furthering Trump’s economic carnage,” the minority leader continued. Under his previous tariff scheme, Mr. Trump’s proposed import taxes sometimes changed by the hour. He sent the crypto market — especially the price of Bitcoin — into a tailspin last year, one from which it has never truly recovered, after threatening to impose a 100 percent tariff on the People’s Republic of China. He quickly walked that back and said that the step would not be taken. Mr. Trump has also used tariffs for purposes that do not relate to America’s economy in any way. He threatened Brazil with a heightened tariff unless a former far-right leader, President Bolsonaro, was allowed to avoid a trial for attempting to violently overturn his re-election loss. The president also hiked tariffs on Switzerland after he had a call with the country’s president. He says he increased those import taxes because he “didn’t really like the way she talked to us.”The House and Senate have already passed resolutions disapproving of Mr. Trump’s use of tariffs on multiple occasions. In the upper chamber, all Democrats have voted to kill the taxes and were able to pass the resolutions of disapproval thanks to an odd cohort of Republicans. Usually, the group consisted of moderate Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, whose states disproportionately trade with Canada relative to other American states. Senators Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell — both of Kentucky — also voted for the anti-tariff resolutions, citing their personal beliefs in free trade. They also said their state’s liquor industry was particularly harmed by the tariffs after many Canadian companies and stores stopped buying Kentucky bourbon as payback for Mr. Trump’s tariffs. It is unclear if Mr. Trump can even get his new 15 percent tariff through the House of Representatives, where there is no supermajority threshold to bring a bill to the floor. Earlier this month, the House voted to kill Mr. Trump’s tariffs on Canada, thanks to six Republicans who joined with Democrats in the vote. One of those lawmakers, Congressman Jeff Hurd, is already facing a primary challenger endorsed by Mr. Trump due to his vote against the president’s preferred tariff strategy. “If we normalize broad emergency trade powers today, we should expect that a future president — of either party — will rely on the same authority in ways many of us would strongly oppose,” Mr. Hurd said after his vote to nix the tariffs on Canada. “The Constitution does not shift depending on who occupies the White House.”

Schumer Vows To Block Any Authorization for Tariffs Trump Seeks on Capitol Hill

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