By George Caldwell, The Daily Signal | April 02, 2025
Ahead of President Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs on Wednesday, members of Congress offered sharply contrasting views of the benefits and drawbacks of applying tariffs on imported goods.
“Liberation day” was eventful, but not just on Capitol Hill: Israel canceled all tariffs on American products, just a day after Canadian trade representatives indicated no retaliatory tariffs would be issued.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum similarly said no “tit for tat” retaliatory tariffs would be imposed, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford offered to negotiate dropping trade barriers on both sides.
For many Republicans, Trump’s tariffs represent a fulfillment of a policy stance he has held for as long he has been in politics.
“Today is an exciting time for the United States,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said in a statement.
“I support the president’s agenda to put America first and start on a new path of American prosperity. I hope this brings our trade partners across the world to the table for more fair and equitable treatment for Americans.”
But others, including Democrats and adamantly anti-tax Republicans, came out sharply criticizing the tariffs.
“They are a tax on families,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “[Republicans] don’t like taxes? This is one of the worst taxes they could put in.”
He added that Democrats will “fight these tariffs tooth and nail.”
Schumer was joined by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who has introduced a resolution to undo the fentanyl emergency declaration that Trump has used to levy tariffs on Canada.
Trump has made sure to warn a group of tariff-skeptic Republicans not to sign on to the resolution.
“Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul, also of Kentucky, will hopefully get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats’ wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale … of fentanyl,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Paul has called tariffs an “economic fallacy,” and Collins spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday in favor of Kaine’s resolution.
Kaine spoke of his resolution at the Wednesday press conference.
“This is not about fentanyl. It’s about tariffs. It’s about a national sales tax on American families,” he said, echoing the often-repeated “sales tax” line of the 2024 Kamala Harris presidential campaign.
Notably, however, when questioned by reporters, Schumer did not categorically reject the idea of tariffs as a matter of principle.
“Are there certain tariffs that make some sense in a specific area where we were being treated unfairly? Yes,” the New York Democrat said. “The kind of meat-axe, blunderbuss approach that they use across the board on everything … is typical of this administration. They don’t think things through.”
Nevertheless, “liberation day” was greeted with enthusiasm by many legislators aligned with Trump’s policies.
Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., who has introduced legislation to increase the president’s tariff power, said in a statement, “We’ll force foreign competitors to the negotiating table, lower trade barriers, and ultimately create real free and fair trade across the board. I’m confident this move will boost our domestic manufacturing industry and fuel demand for American products across the globe.”
Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., called it the “[art] of the deal” upon seeing Ontario’s premier offer to drop tariffs in response to “liberation day.”
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said of the tariffs, “American products win every time. If foreign countries want access to us, it’s going to be on fair terms.”
George Caldwell is a journalism fellow at The Daily Signal.
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