Shaheen Statement on Trump Administration’s New Tariff Threat

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a senior member of the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee, today released the following statement on the Trump Administration’s latest proposal to impose tariffs of at least 10% on many of the nation’s top trading partners, including Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom:

“This Administration appears dead set on making life harder and more expensive for working families and small businesses who already struggle to make ends meet.

“Let’s be very clear: This latest attempt to impose sweeping tariffs on dozens of our trading partners under the guise of cracking down on forced labor practices is a transparent pretext to force a new tax on the American people, who are already paying more for everyday essentials as a result of the President’s war in Iran and economic agenda.

“Enough is enough. President Trump promised to lower prices for Americans struggling with high costs, but we’ve seen just the opposite. As we did with the President’s illegal and costly tariffs levied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Democrats stand ready to fight this backwards proposal.”

A senior member and former chair of the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee, Shaheen leads efforts to mitigate the harmful impacts of President Trump’s tariffs, including with the introduction of the Speedy Tariff Refund Act to ensure full refunds of President Trump’s illegal tariffs that raised costs for American small business owners. In January of last year, before President Trump took office, Shaheen introduced the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes on Imported Goods Act to shield American businesses and consumers from rising prices imposed by tariffs on imported goods into the United States by clarifying that the President does not have the authority to levy sweeping tariffs under IEEPA—while preserving IEEPA’s authority for sanctions and other tools. Shaheen then led more than 30 of her Senate colleagues and 171 House colleagues made in a bipartisan Amicus Brief she filed with the Supreme Court last year.

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