Senate Democrats Want Hearing On Trump’s Tariff Plans
Trade policy has sent stock market into freefall
Democrats on the Senate Banking and Urban Affairs Committee are asking the Republican chairman of the panel to schedule a hearing on Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
Since Trump announced his plans to impose tariffs on nations across the globe, US stock markets have slid sharply into the red, at this point recording steep losses since Trump returned to office in January.
With so many Americans worried about the US economy, Banking committee Democrats wrote Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) to request the panel conduct a hearing on the matter.
Specifically, they want to convene a hearing on Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs.
The committee, the Democrats said, has critical responsibilities for overseeing the use of IEEPA, which gives the president broad authority to impose economic measures in response to extraordinary threats and declared national emergencies.
That authority is not a blank check for the president to enact sweeping new trade policies that harm hard-working American families, however, they add.
“The committee has jurisdiction over key aspects of IEEPA and tariffs as a tool, and we have a responsibility to the American people to exercise our oversight function to scrutinize how the President is using them,” the Democrats wrote.
In the letter, the senators raise concerns that Trump’s tariff policies lack a coherent strategy that could damage the economy, repeat the corporate favoritism seen in his first term, and hurt American consumers by driving up prices.
“We urge you to hold a hearing so the American people can understand the President’s plan and how it will affect their economic futures,” the Democrats concluded.
The letter’s signatories include Sens Mark Warner, of Virginia; Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland; Lisa Blunt Rochester, of Delaware; Catherine Cortez Masto, of Nevada; Tina Smith, of Minnesota; Raphael Warnock, of Georgia; Ruben Gallego, of Arizona; Angela Alsobrooks, of Maryland; and Andy Kim, of New Jersey.
You can read the full text of the letter here.
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