House Ways and Means Committee Democrats hold a press briefing to unveil the Stopping a Rogue President on Trade Act.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Well, she should, they should be taking her back to the office.
00:09All right, everybody. Okay. Wow, it's just me and the men this morning. Good morning, everybody,
00:15and thank you for being here. I'm Congresswoman Linda Sanchez. I'm the ranking member on the
00:19trade subcommittee, and today I stand with my knowledgeable and experienced colleagues from
00:25the Ways and Means Committee because we are introducing the Stopping a Rogue President
00:30on Trade Act. That is a bill that is designed to put an end to the chaos that we've seen under
00:37President Trump. The Constitution is abundantly clear. Congress has the authority and the
00:44responsibility to regulate trade, and it's time for us to step up and fulfill that duty. Now,
00:51over the years, Congress has granted the president certain trade powers, and those powers were meant
00:56to deliver needed relief to build up domestic industries or to be used in emergencies or for
01:02our national security. But President Trump has gone rogue and is abusing these powers in ways that we
01:08have never seen before. He's using them as corrupt extortion tools to bully other countries, diminish
01:16U.S. global leadership, and ultimately isolate the United States and put our national security at
01:22risk. Since taking office, he has done nothing but inject turmoil into our trade discussions. He's
01:32constantly threatening, imposing, or lifting tariffs on a whim, often just in a tweet. And this has created
01:40real havoc in our economy in the United States. Businesses need predictability in order to thrive.
01:48Families need to be able to budget for retirement or sending their kid to college or when it's time to
01:54buy a new car. But the Trump chaos is paralyzing these investments. It's freezing hiring and business
02:02planning. Families right now don't know which way to turn. Since his so-called Liberation Day, American
02:09families have become increasingly nervous about rising costs and the consequences that they will
02:14face as a result of a global trade war. Small businesses are struggling to keep up with instability
02:20and they're unsure of how to plan or invest for the future. And my colleagues and I have heard from
02:26many small businesses in our districts. How will a small business owner relying on one or two suppliers
02:33from an affected tariff country know where to move production to avoid tariffs that will cripple the business?
02:41None of our trading partners are safe and there is no clarity from the president about what may come next. I
02:49cannot underscore this enough. Trump's trade agenda, including the latest tariff policy, has all been done behind
02:57closed doors. And it makes one wonder, what is there to hide? Backroom deals are corrupt and they are anti-democratic.
03:06He is tanking America's global leadership, which will take decades to repair, all while upending the stability
03:13that American businesses rely on. There's no seeming end to the chaos and lack of predictability coming from this
03:20administration. And I think the best example of that was what happened yesterday when the Ways and Means Committee
03:27had USTR Greer in front of the committee. In the middle of the hearing with Trade Representative Greer,
03:34President Trump posted on Truth Social that he was pausing tariffs for 90 days. His own trade representative
03:42was cut completely off guard right in the middle of Congressional hearing. So who is advising the President on Trade
03:50if it's not the US Trade Representative confirmed by Congress to do that very task? Who is the President listening to?
03:59Why is he making these decisions without consulting Congress, the People's House? I'm also extremely concerned about
04:08market manipulation. Donald Trump posted on Truth Social at 937 AM that this is a great time to buy DJ Take T.
04:19Three and a half hours later, he announced that he would pause the tariffs, causing the stock market to go haywire.
04:26It's hard to imagine on its face that the President didn't break myriad laws with those tweets. Meanwhile, the President's new
04:35Chief Ethics Officer is on the Hill trying to defend the President's tariffs and getting pantsed by the President in front of the entire country on TV.
04:46Our bill would once and for all bring order and stability to this mess. The bill does three principal things.
04:53First, it ends the global tariffs that President Trump imposed on April 2nd permanently, not just for a to-be-seen 90-day pause.
05:02These include the baseline 10% tariff on all countries and the massive tariff hikes on nearly 60 trading partners, all of which was based on a bogus and made-up formula.
05:14Instead, our bill would permanently return most tariff rates to where they were before this tariff spree.
05:21Trump's 90-day pause is not enough to provide businesses with the certainty that they need in order to plan for the future.
05:29Second, the bill eliminates the tariffs that were imposed on Mexico and Canada.
05:35The USMCA, an agreement which Congress authorized, provides mechanisms to address trade disputes that we have with our closest neighbors.
05:44There is also the upcoming review of USMCA in which we can determine whether or not we need to renegotiate certain terms of that agreement.
05:54The irony is that President Trump has an issue with the trade imbalances generated by that agreement, but he should take it up with the president who negotiated that bill, which is himself.
06:06Finally, our bill requires Congressional approval for any new tariffs.
06:11As has been made all too clear recently, tariffs are too important to be left by the whims of any one person, especially when they can impact a large swath of American families and businesses.
06:23Congress must have a say in any decision that has such a substantive effect on the American people.
06:30The bottom line is simple. Congress has Congress or has constitutional authority over tariffs and it's time that we use it.
06:38Any decision about tariffs should be made made with transparency, oversight and accountability.
06:45Now, it's my pleasure to pass the microphone over to the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, Richie Neal.
06:55Great job, Linda. This is this is solid legislation.
06:58The steady erosion of congressional authority as it relates to trade practices is out of hand.
07:03And it's because of the impulsive decision making that we're witnessing at 118 yesterday.
07:08It was announced that we were going to pause the tariffs yesterday.
07:12The argument was also that the idea of consultation meant engagement.
07:18Let me tell you what the consultation meant a phone call from USTR saying they were going to do the following.
07:23So they're using a 1977 law in 302 201 for the purpose of suggesting that these are national emergencies.
07:31USMCA was not a national emergency.
07:35We reached an accord after months of daily negotiating.
07:39The president at the time, the same president we have now, suggested that it was the best trade deal in history.
07:47A week ago, it's the worst trade deal in history.
07:50All an excuse to suggest that one person using tweets can put together policy.
07:57So I got to tell you, I've seen a lot over my years here.
08:00But yesterday's performance where the entire office of the USTR is not informed of what's coming.
08:08USMCA was a good agreement.
08:11These agreements over many, many years, you have a chance to review, as Linda said.
08:15So next year we're supposed to review USMCA.
08:18That's the appropriate time to make the changes in deliberations.
08:23In Canada, I met with Prime Minister Trudeau.
08:26We negotiated.
08:27In Mexico, I met with President Lopez Abador.
08:30We negotiated.
08:31No negotiation is everything you want.
08:34But you come to understand there is some give and take.
08:37And what we're witnessing here, again, is this sort of notion that whatever is said at the White House is right about trade.
08:44Congress is a full partner in the trade discussions and negotiations.
08:49And that's why I think Linda Sanchez's legislation today is really important.
08:54And the timeliness of it couldn't be any better.
08:57All right.
08:58Thanks, Doug.
08:59Yes.
09:00And now it's my pleasure to call to the microphone senior member of the Ways and Means Committee
09:07and the ranking member of the Health Subcommittee, Lloyd Doggett.
09:11Thank you, Linda, for your leadership on this.
09:14While the pause yesterday was welcome news to many, it left in place some very high tariffs
09:21and with China some extraordinarily exorbitant tariffs.
09:25And so Americans, rather than seeing prices going drastically down, whether it's going to get a cup of coffee,
09:31whether it's buying a pair of shoes, whether it's planning on toys for holidays or for a birthday party,
09:38Americans will face ever rising prices.
09:41The it's not only the tariff level, but it is the uncertainty around a whimsical president.
09:48It's a tariff level that businesses can never be sure that they can invest
09:53because they don't know what the price of the inputs that they will be getting will be costing,
09:58what they'll be costing next week, next month or this afternoon.
10:03And that's not a way to move forward.
10:06It's one of the reasons that when I surveyed or asked the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association in my hometown to survey their members,
10:16they reported that almost half their members will be reducing hiring as a result of this.
10:22So this has ramifications throughout our economy.
10:25It's the reason that I think that President Trump is kind of a one man crusade for a recession,
10:31because his policies mean higher prices, less employment and less business investment.
10:37And I think Congresswoman Sanchez's bill seeks to stop the madness.
10:41It reclaims the constitutional authority of this Congress on trade.
10:46It repeals the false national emergency that the president used, particularly outrageous relative to our northern partner and longtime ally,
10:56where more fentanyl is going from the U.S. to Canada than is coming from Canada into the U.S.
11:02It puts a stop to the kind of effort that has been made against some of our closest allies,
11:09the United Kingdom, Australia, with whom we have a free trade agreement.
11:14And yet these tariffs were imposed on them despite the fact that we have not a deficit,
11:19but a surplus in trade with them already.
11:22Just before these tariffs were announced, I visited with the economics minister of one of countries
11:28that we've had a long time strong relationship with.
11:31That minister came here to Washington, met with some of the same USTR members with the administration
11:38that didn't know what was going on yesterday and asked essentially,
11:42what can we do to avoid a trade war with you?
11:44What steps can we take?
11:45And that person was told absolutely nothing because President Trump is intent on tariffs for all.
11:51Just don't complain.
11:53Well, we have plenty of reason as Americans to complain now.
11:57Normally you negotiate before a war, not after it.
12:01And I'm pleased that Congresswoman Sanchez is our leader on the trade subcommittee,
12:06is taking the step and please join her.
12:08And welcome a great leader on our committee and in our caucus,
12:14who spoke so effectively yesterday on these trade matters, Susan DelBinney.
12:20Good morning, everyone.
12:25I want to thank this incredible group of lawmakers for their leadership in defense of our economy
12:32and our constitution.
12:34We're here today united behind this legislation that once again makes it very, very clear that
12:41the president has to come to Congress before imposing sweeping tariffs.
12:46And let's be clear, what he's done is sweeping.
12:48He can't pretend to be king and on a whim issue sweeping tariffs,
12:54jack up the costs on millions of families and risk sending our economy into recession.
13:00And Trump and Republicans promise to lower prices for families on day one.
13:06And that's a broken promise.
13:08And they're breaking it over and over again.
13:10They are making prices rise for families and making it unaffordable for too long.
13:17We've seen Congress not stand up for its role on trade and tariff authorities.
13:24And we're seeing the extreme consequences from this president.
13:28In erratic, unchecked presidents putting tariffs on one minute,
13:32taking them away on the other, providing uncertainty over and over again.
13:36And we know businesses, families hate uncertainty.
13:40I heard from a business in my district.
13:43They said they're being tariffed out of business.
13:46And what he meant was it was the tariffs, but it was the uncertainty.
13:50Folks didn't think nothing that he was doing.
13:53His business was doing fine.
13:55But international customers just couldn't be sure what the U.S. environment was going to be like,
14:00whether or not there were going to be tariffs on products.
14:03And they were looking for places where they would find more stability.
14:06That's all result of Donald Trump's policies.
14:10And frankly, Republicans refuse to do nothing about it.
14:14Chaos is damaging.
14:16And it's clear that the president has no plans, no goals, which provides even more uncertainty.
14:23And as was mentioned when we were meeting with Ambassador Greer, the trade ambassador yesterday,
14:30he didn't even know what the policy was.
14:33People don't know what he's going to do beforehand or what policy might be.
14:38There's no consultation.
14:39There's no plan.
14:40There's no clarity of what they want to see going forward.
14:45So Congress has an important role to play.
14:51We together have an important role to play.
14:54It's critical that we use our constitutional power.
14:59Republicans could end this trade war by working with us right now with a simple vote.
15:03And yet they continue to avoid.
15:07They're afraid of taking a vote.
15:09And they take away our ability to have a vote, as we saw yesterday in the rules package.
15:14So I want to thank everyone here for their partnership.
15:17And I want to introduce my colleague who's been a strong leader on the Trade Subcommittee from
15:23San California, Jimmy Panetta.
15:25Thanks, Susan.
15:26Thanks, Ranking Member Neal.
15:27And of course, thanks to Ranking Member Sanchez.
15:30Obviously, I'm very proud to be here today.
15:32I'm proud to be on the Ways and Means Committee, proud to be on the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee.
15:37But I'm definitely proud of our performance yesterday on the Democratic side and our work during the hearing with Ambassador Greer,
15:46in which we were able, kind of easy to a certain extent, to make apparent how damaging, how destructive, how dumb Trump's tariffs are.
15:56Not just to our economy, but to our global economy.
15:59Not just to our financial security, but also to our national security.
16:05It would be, if these tariffs are imposed, the largest self-inflicted wound to our economy in our history.
16:15And so, I'm glad that the President put a pause to the implementation of some of these tariffs, but clearly, it's not over.
16:25It's not over because we have a President guided by his simplified scorecard thinking when it comes to trade and trade deficits,
16:34and his 40-year fetish for tariffs.
16:37Now, it's demonstrated that that attitude is demonstrated in that the authority that he's using with IEPA.
16:47Now, past presidents have used IEPA, but only for sanctions and to freeze assets.
16:53Never, never to impose tariffs until President Trump.
16:58And that's why we're here today.
17:00That's why Representative Sanchez authored this bill and why we support this legislation.
17:06To reclaim congressional authority over tariffs.
17:10To take back our power that's granted to Congress under Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 in the United States Constitution.
17:20This is about standing up to President Trump.
17:25To taking back our power and to stopping these types of tariffs that Trump will put in place.
17:32It's about reclaiming congressional authority.
17:36About members of Congress.
17:38Yes, on the Democratic side, but letting the Republicans know they need to step up as well.
17:44When it comes to providing and ensuring that the American public have faith in this institution to do what's right.
17:52When it comes to our economy.
17:54When it comes to working families.
17:56And when it comes to trade.
17:58That's why we're here today.
18:00Look, I told you I was proud to be a part of this committee.
18:02And I was never as proud as when my colleague Stephen Horsford had the opportunity yesterday to catch.
18:10Exactly.
18:11To catch Ambassador Greer completely off guard after the rug got completely taken out from underneath him.
18:19And basically put him in the position that he deserved to be in, unfortunately for him.
18:24And so I'm proud today to introduce to you Stephen Horsford.
18:30Well, look, good morning.
18:32I went into Ways and Means Committee yesterday planning to ask the U.S. Trade Representative about the Trump tariff taxes and their impact on the hardworking people in Nevada.
18:46And our tourism economy that's being impacted by this administration's policies.
18:52Not only on trade and tariffs, but also lack of visas for international travelers.
18:59Much to all of our surprise, we watched as the trade rep learned in real time that the president had just pulled the rug out from under him.
19:10You know, I almost had a bit of empathy for him.
19:13But then I thought about the millions of Americans whose retirement, whose health savings accounts, whose savings for their children going to college had all been put in jeopardy.
19:31The look on his face said it all.
19:34Trump's billionaire friends like Elon Musk complained Trump blinked and the poor trade rep was on the hot seat.
19:43Given the shocking change in trade trade policy, I went on to ask why the trade rep hesitated to share this information.
19:53He spittered, he spittered, and he sheepishly claimed that he knew all along, while also saying he hadn't spoken to President Trump about it.
20:06So let's make sure we're all tracking.
20:10The trade representative hadn't spoken to the President of the United States about a global reordering of trade.
20:18And the President is out there announcing it on a post.
20:23Yeah, WTF.
20:26Who's in charge?
20:28Now, I fundamentally believe this shows the amateur hour of this administration.
20:34And that is why I commend ranking member Sanchez under the leadership of Chairman Neal for bringing this necessary legislation and all of my colleagues.
20:46Because the President chose to take actions that he didn't even have the authority to take from the beginning.
20:53He put our economy in disarray and near collapse.
20:56We have small businesses and American families who are concerned about their well-beings.
21:03People's retirements, their health savings accounts, 529 accounts went down in value because of the illegal actions of this administration.
21:14We have people who are planning to send their kids to college this fall.
21:19And we have people who are retiring whose benefits have declined.
21:24What about them, Mr. President?
21:29Ambassador Greer claimed this wasn't market manipulation.
21:34Are you kidding me?
21:36If it was a plan, if this was always a plan, then how is it not market manipulation?
21:45A bunch of billionaires just got richer and the American people got screwed.
21:52Meanwhile, the Speaker is rushing today to put a budget reconciliation to a vote that would cause the biggest tax cut for billionaires and big corporations on the backs of the American people.
22:08That's what's up.
22:10That's what's up.
22:11That is the effect of these compounding decisions by this administration.
22:15So I'm proud to join with Representative Terry Sewell, the ranking member of Oversight, to lead a letter to hold this grifter administration accountable.
22:27I want to know who knew what about this policy change and I want to know when they knew it.
22:32My constituents in Nevada and every single American deserves to understand the planning that went into this decision.
22:41This is not a game.
22:43This is real life.
22:44And that is why this legislation today is necessary and a full inquiry into this process is necessary.
22:53So thank you to my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee and I will turn it back over to the ranking member, Ms. Sanchez.
23:03We have a couple more speakers if we can fit in, but we have a hard stop at 1030.
23:08But it's my pleasure to introduce someone who knows a lot about tariffs because he owns successful businesses and which were impacted by tariffs.
23:18My colleague, Don Beyer.
23:22We have to stop the madness.
23:27Like this is simple.
23:29The president's drunk on power and taking a sledgehammer to our economy.
23:34I'm so grateful to what ranking member Sanchez for her bill and for once and future Chairman Neal for his always steadfast leadership.
23:43Look, I know firsthand tariffs are a massive increase on the American people.
23:48Tariffs are taxes paid by the American consumer.
23:51And this average, what they put out was going to cost the average family more than $4,000 by every measure.
23:57They're also seriously raising the risk of recession.
24:00And the power here belongs to Congress under the Constitution.
24:03The national emergency for fentanyl smuggling over the Canadian border that our government says is less than 1%.
24:09I just learned this morning that we actually export more to fentanyl to Canada inadvertently than comes in from them.
24:18And we know how Congress has to do this is to reassert our power.
24:21Because the time is so short, I just want to say that this is a very good bill.
24:25And I am thrilled that with the always strong Ways and Means Democrat leadership, we've got to stop the madness.
24:32This is the first step.
24:33And to close it out, I'm pleased to introduce another outstanding member of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Schneider from Illinois.
24:46Good morning, and I want to thank Congresswoman Sanchez and all of my Ways and Means colleagues.
24:53I am proud to support the Stopping a Rogue President on Trade Act.
24:57What we're really talking about here are the checks and balances conceived by the founders almost 240 years ago.
25:04As Representative Panetta noted, it's Article 1, Section 8, Subparagraph 3, Subsection 3.
25:11It talks about Congress having the authority, the responsibility for trade, for tariffs.
25:18But what we're really dealing with here, and it was noted earlier, we have a president who doesn't have a strategy, doesn't even really have a policy.
25:26He's issuing edicts on whimsy.
25:30He is coordinating, apparently, with his allies and cronies and supporters who, while people with retirement accounts, with 529 accounts, were put in a position of taking losses.
25:43And if they needed to take the money out of the market, they realized those losses.
25:47And at the indication of a president who said, now's a good time to buy, folks sitting on a lot of cash, folks like Elon Musk, rushed into the market to make a huge, extraordinary profit.
26:01And the case and balances that the founders envisioned says Congress has a responsibility.
26:06There's a reason for it, though.
26:08If you look at the people who were on this stage, you look at the members of the Ways and Means Committee, you look at the Congress as a whole, each of us come from various and distinct districts representing the values and the priorities of those districts.
26:20But through deliberation and consideration, we should be coming up with thoughtful and considered policy.
26:27Instead, we have a president in the White House who on whimsy, who on whoever was the last person in the room talking to him or simply just to exert his sense of power.
26:39He can swing one way to the other and inflict incredible harm on working families.
26:45The election in November was about lowering prices, about helping people not just make ends meet, but get ahead.
26:52What the president did this month and he's done since taking office is making life harder for hardworking Americans, for small businesses trying to figure out how to navigate a challenging economy.
27:04The president is hurting our economy, hurting families, hurting retirees, hurting our children's future.
27:10And that's why Congress has to retake its responsibilities and its prerogatives and why we need to pass the Stopping the Road President on Trade Act.
27:21Thank you, Mr. Schneider.
27:22We are out of time, unfortunately, but I know that there are probably questions.
27:26You can direct them to Adam Russell in my office.
27:28We'll be happy to answer them, but we have to make space for the next press conference.
27:33Thank you so much.
27:34Good job, Linda.
27:36Great.