Andy Kim: This Is What Small Businesses Are Saying Even After Trump Paused Most Tariffs For 90 Days

2 days ago

At a Senate Democratic press briefing, Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) slammed President Trump's tariffs.

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Transcript

00:00I had the chance to talk to some constituents back in New Jersey about their reaction to what has just happened,

00:06especially business owners, and they said two things to me.

00:09They said the damage has already been done and that uncertainty remains.

00:14And I think that that's really important to hit home.

00:16I mean, this is something where we've seen, as Senator Gillibrand mentioned,

00:19trillions of dollars of damage when it comes to our economy.

00:23But also when it comes to these small businesses, because the uncertainty remains,

00:27because we don't know what's going to happen after the 90 days,

00:30we don't know what's going to happen next,

00:31just the fact that he's making just these major decisions on a whim,

00:36it's going to continue to affect the prices that small businesses in particular are going to be paying,

00:41because they're saying just the prospect of additional tariffs down the road,

00:46whether it's 90 days or not, is going to keep their prices up.

00:49The last thing I'll say, as someone who's worked in national security before,

00:54engaged a lot on U.S.-China challenges on this front,

00:57if Trump is continuing to try to keep the pressure on Trump, he's doing it in the wrong way.

01:02If we're trying to take on and think about economic tools when it comes to tariffs,

01:07the best way would have been to be able to do it in a multilateral way,

01:10to work alongside other countries to join us in an effort to take on an economy as strong as China.

01:15But what we see right now is that America right now, we're not a global leader, we're a global outlier.

01:21You know, we are causing so much of the damage in this way,

01:25and our allies and our partners who we've abandoned, or Trump has abandoned and gone after,

01:30you know, we're going to make it harder for us to be able to take the kind of efforts

01:34on the national and the global stage that is necessary.

01:37And you see very clearly right now that America first to Donald Trump,

01:41when it comes to foreign policy, means America alone.

01:44Look how alone we are right now in this moment.

01:47It is shameful, and it is something that, as myself, I've worked in national security,

01:51I've never seen this level of isolation of the United States as I do right now.

01:57And that is so damaging on so many different fronts.

02:00Thanks, Andy.

02:01There you go.

02:01So look.

Andy Kim: This Is What Small Businesses Are Saying Even After Trump Paused Most Tariffs For 90 Days

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