Murray: “Whatever Trump tweets today, he can reverse tomorrow. Whatever deal he may strike one minute, he may rip up the next… We, here in Congress—we are the off ramp, IF Republicans decide to be… I will not let Republicans off the hook for this.”
Even with his “pause,” Trump’s new tariff rates are the largest tax increase since 1968—and will cost American families more than $4,000 per year
ICYMI: Senator Murray, Commerce Director Nguyễn, WA Businesses and Agriculture Respond to Trump Tariffs Raising Costs on Americans, Tanking Economy
***WATCH HERE***
Washington, D.C. — Today,U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, took to the Senate floor to lay out how Trump’s chaotic trade war—which is sending the markets whipsawing back and forth every time he posts—is seriously threatening our economy, American businesses, families’ retirement savings, and so much else. Senator Murray hammered Republicans in Congress for their outright refusal to end President Trump’s trade war—which Congress has the power to do—and their willingness to hand over Congress’ Constitutionally-granted power to impose tariffs.
Murray also made clear that, while Trump may be retreating from some of his most extreme tariffs for now, his trade war is far from over—Trump is still taxing goods from every country, across the board, at 10 percent at least, and he is escalating his trade war with China, with 145 percent tariffs—which will mean higher prices and serious pain for families and small business across the country. Murray has been vocal about the need to out-compete China but warned that waging an all-out trade war with China on a whim will mean serious economic pain for consumers and small businesses across the country. China is the world’s second largest economy and Washington state exported over $12 billion in goods to China last year—making China Washington state’s top export partner—and imported $11.2 billion in goods from China, the second-most in imports to Washington state from any country aside from Canada. The economic fallout from Trump’s trade war will be felt especially in Washington state, one of the most trade-dependent states in the entire country.
Even with his “pause,” Trump’s new tariff rates are still the largest tax increase since 1968—and will cost American families more than $4,000 per year.
“When it comes to new tax breaks for billionaires Republicans they are going to work around the clock, stay through the night. But when it comes to stopping Trump’s trade war for good, when it comes to stopping a tax increase aimed squarely at working families, when it comes to stopping the complete uncertainty that is chipping away at confidence in our economy—most Republicans can’t be bothered,” Senator Murray said on the Senate floor today. “Never mind, that Trump is now pushing us into a recession and sending the markets whipsawing back and forth every time he tweets.”
“Trump may be retreating from some of his most outlandish tariffs, but make no mistake: his trade war is far from over,” Senator Murray continued. “The threat of even larger taxes—that American families simply cannot afford—is still like a time bomb, set to blow up our economy in 90 days. And if Congress does not defuse that economic bomb there is a real threat that it will blow up balance sheets for small businesses and farms, college savings accounts for our students, and your retirement savings—along with a lot more. […] Trump has no exit strategy. That much is already painfully clear. It was clear when he announced tariffs that were calculated using ridiculous math, it was clear when he repeatedly doubled down on these threats against our allies, and it was clearer than ever when he backtracked on the most absurd tax hikes. This does not have the hallmarks of a grand strategy—and it’s all the more reason Congress, us, needs to step in and put this mess to an end.”
Earlier this week, Senator Murray brought together leaders across Washington state who highlighted how Trump’s ongoing trade war is already a devastating hit to Washington state’s economy, businesses, and our agriculture sector. Trump’s price hikes on working families are coming at the very same time that Republicans are forcing massive new tax cuts for billionaires through Congress via the reconciliation process, which only requires a simple majority to pass.
40 percent of jobs in Washington state are tied to international commerce. Washington state is the top U.S. producer of apples, blueberries, hops, pears, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries—all of which risk losing vital export markets due to retaliatory tariffs from key trading partners including Canada. Additionally, more than 12,000 small and medium-sized companies in Washington state export goods and will be unlikely to be able to absorb the impact of retaliatory tariffs. Trump’s tariffs during his first term were extremely costly for Washington state—for example, India imposed a 20 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. apples, causing Washington apple shipments to India to fall by 99 percent and growers to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in exports.
Senator Murray’s full remarks, as delivered on the Senate floor, are below and video is HERE:
“Thank you, Mr. President.
“When it comes to new tax breaks for billionaires Republicans they are going to work around the clock, stay through the night. But when it comes to stopping Trump’s trade war for good, when it comes to stopping a tax increase aimed squarely at working families, when it comes to stopping the complete uncertainty that is chipping away at confidence in our economy—most Republicans can’t be bothered.
“Never mind, that Trump is now pushing us into a recession and sending the markets whipsawing back and forth every time he tweets. Trump may be retreating from some of his most outlandish tariffs, but make no mistake, his trade war is far from over.
“First of all, he is still taxing goods from every country—across the board—at 10 percent at least. That means higher prices, and serious pain, for families and small businesses across our country. Not to mention, he is only escalating his boneheaded trade war with China with 145 percent tariffs!
“There is no question we are in fierce competition with China. I chaired a committee hearing focused on this. We need to be competing to win—but that is not what Trump is doing.
“Do my Republican colleagues understand it is not setting America up for success to launch an all-out trade war with the second largest economy in the world, on a whim?
“And while people might be temporarily relieved by a so-called pause on the even higher tariffs, the fact of the matter is that Trump is only delaying them.
“The threat of even larger taxes—that American families simply cannot afford—is still like a time bomb, set to blow up our economy in 90 days. And if Congress does not defuse that economic bomb there is a real threat that it will blow up balance sheets for small businesses and farms, college savings accounts for our students, and your retirement savings—along with a lot more.
“And—I have to emphasize—the uncertainty, the constant by-the-hour reversal of federal policy, that alone is already causing massive harm. How on earth are you supposed to build your business—if your costs skyrocket on a tweet? How are you supposed to plan for retirement—when the President is sending your 401k on a rollercoaster ride every time he is in a bad mood?
“How are we ever going to rebuild trust, trust, with our trading partners across the world when the message the United States is sending right now is that our trade relationships are built on sand and there is no logic to the tariffs the United States will impose.
“How are they supposed to feel good about negotiating with a country—where one man can totally burn down the economy and Congress will not lift a finger to stop him.
“Instead of building stronger trade agreements—Trump is pushing our partners away and pushing them towards striking deals with China and our other adversaries. And mark my words, this chaotic chapter is not over—as much as Republicans want to pretend otherwise.
“I have been hearing from small businesses who are in an absolute panic because of Trump’s tariff threats. Car dealerships are seeing sales plummet because Trump is sending prices higher, restaurants are trying to stock up on any goods they can because their ingredients are about to get more expensive, our growers are bracing for rising operating costs and retaliatory tariffs—and that is going to drive up prices at the grocery store.
“10 percent across-the-board tariffs are still bad enough to ruin families’ finances.
“And while Republicans are showing with their own actions that they couldn’t care more about shoveling trillions—yes, that is T—trillions—at billionaires, Trump has said, in his own words—that he, ‘couldn’t care less’ about the pain his tariffs are already causing for Americans. I’m not kidding—he actually said that about automobile tariffs.
“This is what happens when you only have billionaires in charge. Because, of course, Trump doesn’t care if car prices go up by a couple thousand dollars.
“Of course, Elon Musk doesn’t care if your groceries are getting more expensive, at the same time Republicans are cutting nutrition programs by the way.
“Of course, the richest people in the world don’t care if your nest egg is crushed, if your small business shutters, if your house gets foreclosed on, or your kid can’t go to college. Billionaires are going to be fine—after all, they are still getting a tax cut!
“But I wasn’t sent here to fight for the billionaires—actually none of us were. We are here to fight for families back home and they are already starting to get crushed by Trump’s tariffs.
“And they are bracing for impact if Trump doubles down in 90 days.
“Or who knows, maybe Trump changes his mind again tomorrow! It’s anyone’s guess at this point—which is by the way the problem here!
“And another thing—if this is about American manufacturing, tell us why are plants and new investments being cancelled? Why has Trump been freezing and outright cancelling grants we passed to support chips manufacturing, or clean energy, and more—killing American jobs.
“And let’s keep in mind, these tariffs affect building and construction too. Trump is actually making it more expensive to build factories in America. And don’t forget—President Trump is still promising more tariffs.
“He said this week, this week, he wants to put tariffs on medicine. Well, I got to tell you, one thing I have never heard—not in a single meeting, not once in my entire career as a Senator—is someone saying ‘Gee I really wish my prescriptions were more expensive.’
“Drug costs are out of control. Families are already skipping meals… or rationing doses. There are real stakes here—there is real damage already happening in this country because of Trump’s new taxes and his ongoing chaos. We here cannot ignore this harm, especially when the threat is still there.
“When you are putting out a fire, you don’t say ‘oh great, it’s smaller—job done!’ You keep going until the fire is put out.
“This fire, this fire is still raging. If we don’t act, folks back home are the ones who are going to get burned, and before too long—in 90 days—we could see even worse price increases come roaring back. Because let’s be real, Trump has no exit strategy. That much is already painfully clear.
“It was clear when he announced tariffs that were calculated using ridiculous math, it was clear when he repeatedly doubled down on these threats against our allies, and it was clearer than ever when he backtracked on the most absurd tax hikes.
“This does not have the hallmarks of a grand strategy—and it’s all the more reason Congress, us, needs to step in and put this mess to an end. Trump’s trade war is all pain and no plan.
“We could be passing legislation right here to reject this chaos. Here’s what everyone—my colleagues, my constituents, the markets around the world—all need to understand. This chaos will not be over for good unless we, here in congress, vote to end it. Because whatever Trump tweets today, he can reverse tomorrow. Whatever deal he may strike one minute, he may rip up the next. We know this about him. He proves it at every opportunity.
“We—here in Congress—we are the off ramp if Republicans decide to be. We are the check on Presidential power. We are the kill switch for Trump’s trade war. And by the way, we are about to be out of town for two weeks.
“I cannot understand why any Republican would want to leave this business unfinished, want to leave this economic time bomb ticking, want to hand over our constitutionally granted power to impose tariffs.
“But I can tell you, for the next two weeks, I am going to be going across my home state of Washington raising this alarm. I am going to be meeting with families, small businesses, people who are paying the cost of Trump’s new tax increase and who are going to see their world turned upside down if we do not take action to stop this from getting worse.
“And when we are back here in two weeks—you can bet your bottom dollar I will lift those stories up as high as I can, I will call for action as loud as I can, and I am going tokeep a bright and burning spotlight on all of the chaos Trump has caused, and I will keep the pressure on all of our colleagues—I will not let Republicans off the hook for this. We can put an end to this.
“The costs are just going to keep adding up. The carnage is just going to keep piling higher. How long do you want to wait?
“My vote—not one more second.”
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