Terminating the National Emergency Declared to Impose Global Tariffs

Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, before he leaves the floor, I just want to thank Leader Schumer for all the help. We are going to be focused today on something that really matters to people, and I thank him.

Mr. President, we are beginning, as you can tell, to discuss the resolution to repeal the global tariff emergency.

As is becoming routine under this President, Americans were greeted with grim economic news this morning. After 3 years of strong growth and rising job numbers, the U.S. economy actually shrank in the first 3 months of 2025. The trade deficit hit a record $162 billion. The United States added only half as many jobs this month as expected.

A major culprit is unquestionably Donald Trump and his senseless global tariffs. If this continues to be our tariff policy, every major economist and forecaster is, unfortunately, predicting recession, job losses, and the misery that was all over our news feeds this morning.

The U.S. Senate cannot be an idle spectator in the tariff madness. The Congress has the power to set tariffs and regulate global trade, and Members can vote today--not do something in a month or some other time--but Members can vote today to put an end to Trump's global tariffs and the economic disaster they are creating.

Earlier this month, Donald Trump slapped new 10 percent taxes on nearly everything Americans buy from overseas, 125 percent tariffs on nearly everything from China, and he promises even higher taxes in July on products from nearly five dozen countries. That is just the latest plan.

I think we all understand goldfish have memories that last longer than Donald Trump's tariff promises. Before these global tariffs, there was the on-again, off-again trade war with China and Mexico; tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars; and ad hoc exemptions for things like electronics and fertilizer. When the public outcry was so great, Donald Trump had to backtrack.

Donald Trump imposed his global tariffs by declaring an economic emergency under a law call IEEPA. No President has ever imposed tariffs under this law. In my view, Trump's actions clearly go beyond what the law allows, which is why Senators Shaheen, Kaine, and I have offered a bill to make it clear that this law does not allow the President to issue tariffs.

Members can vote today to repeal the so-called emergency Trump declared and end the harmful global tariffs.

Now, I am going to talk for just a few minutes with respect to taking stock of the economic carnage that Donald Trump's trade chaos has already inflicted on our country. We are going to examine the administration's own claims about what their plan is and make the case for why every Member of this body should vote to assert the powers of Congress to trade and to end the tariffs, and they should do it no matter their party or which State they represent.

I already mentioned the shocking economic news this morning. By every single forecast, by every measure, Donald Trump's self-defeating tariffs are actively making Americans poorer, and they are doing it now and for years to come.

Economic growth, gone. Inflation, rising. Unemployment projections, up again.

Experts estimate Trump's tariffs will cost average families about $4,000 a year. Many products from China won't even be available soon, and that is thanks to the tariffs. For the products that are still available, prices are going up--a fact that Donald Trump flails about trying to hide.

When Amazon was rumored to list the impacts of tariffs on prices, Donald Trump threw a fit, reportedly threatening Jeff Bezos and calling it a hostile act. God forbid that Americans actually know what the real costs of his tariffs are.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Republicans are charging ahead with plans to go forward with their tax bill, which features more bailouts for billionaires, paid for by kicking millions of people off their health insurance and gutting programs that kids and families rely on to stay safe and healthy.

Donald Trump, meanwhile, puts higher taxes on groceries, clothes, and cars for working families, while he puts his extra time in to pass tax cuts for the wealthy. That is his agenda.

My state knows how Donald Trump's tariff chaos is already hurting real people, and we know how it is drying up markets for ``red, white, and blue'' products. About one in five jobs in Oregon depends on trade, and the trade jobs often pay better.

Speaking with small businesses and workers all over Oregon--I did it just last week--every single one warned of damage from tariffs, and soon.

Bob's Red Mill, for example, sells delicious flour and grains, mostly made from wheat and other crops in Oregon. But some of their ingredients--like coconut or tapioca, which just aren't grown here-- come from outside the country. The cost of those products goes up because of tariffs.

Worse, foreign markets for Bob's goods are drying out. That is because other countries put their own tariffs on Bob's flour and other Oregon ag products in retaliation for Trump's aimless war.

Oregon grass seed growers estimate that about half of their exports-- nearly $200 million in sales--are being canceled, thanks to the global tariffs.

Donald Trump and his advisers claim there is nothing to worry about. They say the economists and the pundits are overreacting, and everything is going according to plan. Secretary Bessent is on cable news so often, trying to calm investors, that it is a wonder that he has got any time to do a bit of negotiating.

But, as usual, it is not clear at all what the plan is, what their tariffs are supposed to accomplish, or when, if ever, American families and workers will see the relief.

Earlier this month, Donald Trump claimed he would have 200 deals completed within 3 or 4 weeks. Then he said: No, that is ``physically impossible'' to have all of the meetings needed to seal the deals. He should have thought of that before he started a trade war against the entire world.

Now, he claimed that he was already negotiating with China to lower tariffs and calm trade tensions, but China and Secretary Bessent said that talks have not even started.

This weekend, the Agriculture Secretary said 100 countries had reached out to start trade talks, and almost at the same time, Secretary Bessent said there are actually 18 so-called priority countries, and those talks would take about 90 days.

If nobody in this administration can even agree on what is happening right now, how can they negotiate smart trade deals with nearly every nation on Earth?

Anonymous White House aides continue to say that Donald Trump is working to deescalate his trade war, but Donald Trump doesn't sound like he is willing to admit he got it wrong. He told Time magazine that if tariffs are at 20 percent or even 50 percent a year from now, that would be a ``total victory.'' So, once again, no one can tell what his administration wants or what the end game is.

I believe it is hard to see how any foreign country right now would make concessions to Donald Trump. That is because he has proven himself to be both untrustworthy and incapable of sticking to a position on tariffs for more than a few weeks at a time.

One foreign diplomat told the press that countries are worried that any deal they make with the Treasury or Commerce Secretaries will be contradicted by Trump. Other trading partners said they don't want to make a deal now only to have Trump decide on a unilateral tariff in the future.

Donald Trump has trashed America's credibility.

He hasn't just made it unlikely for his administration to get a good deal for American workers. My view is he has hurt every future president who wants to strike a good trade deal.

The best way to restore our Nation's good name is for Congress to step in and assert, finally, our constitutional authority over trade.

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution grants Congress power ``To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations'' and ``To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.'' In other words, this is our job. It is not always pretty, but Congress can provide stability and certainty on trade that last beyond a single President's administration.

This body has already signaled bipartisan support for reversing pointless tariffs. We did that when we passed Senator Kaine's bill to end the tariffs on Canada. Today, the Senate can take another powerful step--a powerful step in the right direction--by voting to repeal the global tariffs on a bipartisan basis.

I would just close by saying: Listen to your constituents. Listen to what you are hearing from home, because what I heard was, overwhelmingly, Oregonians and the people I ran into in airports and the like said it is time to bring some certainty and predictability back to making these urgently needed trade policies.

I urge this body to vote for jobs and prosperity rather than unending trade conflict that leaves our country as a loser. I urge every Senator to support this crucial resolution.

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Mr. WYDEN.

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Mr. WYDEN. Thank you, Mr. President.

Senators, the devastating economic news we got this morning should be enough for Senators to vote yes tonight.

The only winner from the tariffs is China, which is scooping up markets and allies Donald Trump has left in the dust.

Senators, vote yes. Reclaim American trade policy, and end its outsourcing to Donald Trump.
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