A Free-trade Critic, Sanders Opposes Trump’s ‘Across-the-board’ Tariffs
Unilateral imposition of levies another hallmark of authoritarianism, senator adds
Sen Bernie Sanders may have been, for decades, a critic of free, unfettered trade, but the global tariffs Donald Trump imposed last week isn’t the answer.
That’s according to the Vermont independent, who has been leading the fight against Trump since the reality TV star billionaire returned to office in January.
A fierce advocate for working- and middle-class Americans, Sanders noted that the opposed US free-trade deals with like China and Mexico during the 1990s.
And “targeted tariffs” can be a “powerful tool.”
But Trump’s blanket levies against more than 60 countries isn’t helpful, Sanders said in a statement released by his office.
“Trump’s across-the-board tariffs are not the way to do it. We do not need a blanket and arbitrary sales tax on imported goods which will raise prices on products that the American people desperately need,” he said. “We should be doing everything we can to lower prices, not make them incredibly higher.”
Also, Trump’s current round of tariffs are illegal since the power to levy tariffs during peacetime rests with Congress alone, Sanders said.
“Further, and most importantly, what Trump is doing is illegal and another step toward authoritarianism’” he said. “In pushing his tariffs he is usurping the power of Congress and abrogating existing agreements under ‘emergency’ provisions – when there are no real emergencies. In other words, he is incorporating more and more power into his own hands. That is unacceptable.”
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