Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged sweeping tariffs on U.S. imports from around the globe, including from U.S. neighbors and allies, but especially on Chinese goods. Trump contends that his tariffs, while initially shocking the U.S. and global economies, will ultimately be good for the long-term economic health of the United States. But economists disagree sharply with Trump’s assertions, and instead warn that the tariffs he is proposing would trigger a global economic crisis without accomplishing any of Trump’s stated goals.
Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Timothy Carney argues that Democrats must urgently work with Republican U.S. senators to draft legislation clarifying the levying of tariffs as a legislative power, not just an executive one, so that Trump has no way to unilaterally impose these tariffs through executive action when he returns to power.
The following is an excerpt from the above video:
While these tariffs would harm foreign companies, they are still taxes on the Americans who buy foreign goods. Notably, about half of the goods affected by tariffs are not final goods like computers or sneakers, but are raw materials that U.S. manufacturers use to make other things, such as aluminum imported to make dishwashers in U.S. factories. The president shouldn’t have the power to hike taxes on Americans without a vote in Congress.
Thankfully, Congress can fix that. Senators Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., have both introduced bills that would slightly curb the president’s tariff powers by requiring congressional approval before the president can hike tariffs. Democrats spent the 2024 election attacking Trump’s tariff plans as middle-class tax increases. If they really mean it, Democrats could join forces with Senators Lee and Paul to pass one of these bills and put [it] on President Biden’s desk before Trump takes office. That would prevent tax increases on middle-class Americans, and it would take power away from Donald Trump, but it would also require Congress to take on some accountability, and that’s the last thing Congress wants do.
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