Kaine, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Repeal Trump’s Global Tariffs and Lower Prices for Americans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Senate colleagues introduced bipartisan legislation to repeal President Donald Trump’s global tariffs and terminate the national emergency Trump declared in order to slap tariffs of up to 40 percent on products Americans buy from other countries. The legislation is privileged, meaning the Senate will be forced to vote on the bill.

“Americans are worse off because President Trump decided to start trade wars that have raised costs of everyday goods, hurt businesses, and resulted in Americans losing their jobs,” Kaine said. “The Constitution says only Congress has the power to levy taxes, and it is time for Congress to step in and put an end to Trump’s illegal import taxes, which will cost the average American family thousands of dollars.”

Since Trump’s tariff declaration, costs for everyday goods have increased, manufacturers have laid off American workers and halted domestic investments, and foreign countries have sharply cut purchases of American-produced agricultural exports. The senators introduced a similar measure in April, which failed in a narrow 49-49 vote.

In addition to Kaine, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Rand Paul (R-KY), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

Kaine has been a leading challenger to Trump’s broad-based tariff policy. In March, Kaine introduced bipartisan legislation to undo Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, which passed the Senate in a 51-48 vote. However, Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives refused to bring the legislation to a vote. In September, Kaine reintroduced the legislation to force the Senate to vote again on Trump’s Canada tariffs after the levies began causing product sales and tourism rates to fall. Kaine also introduced bipartisan legislation in September to challenge Trump’s tariffs on billions of dollars in goods from Brazil. Both pieces of legislation are privileged, meaning the Senate will be required to vote on them.

Full text of the legislation is available here. A one-page summary is available here.

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