During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke about President Trump's tariffs.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Mr. President, since taking office 72 days ago, the Trump administration has created
00:07chaos in our economy.
00:10The President, if you'll remember, campaigned on lowering prices for American families.
00:15Unfortunately, his policies and actions have done the opposite.
00:19Many families are worse off today than when he was sworn in.
00:23In February, egg prices, which has become a political standard-bearer, hit a new all-time
00:30high in the United States.
00:33Just last week, a typical U.S. homeowner's monthly mortgage payment also reached an all-time
00:38high.
00:40And now, Donald Trump's ill-conceived, foolish trade war with one of our top allies is the
00:47latest example of his continued pain for America's wallets.
00:53On February 1st, the President announced he was imposing a 10 percent tariff on energy
00:57imports from Canada, as well as a 25 percent tariff on all other goods.
01:04Unsurprisingly, Canada answered and announced retaliatory tariffs.
01:11And just like that, a trade war with our second-largest trading partner and closest ally is underway.
01:20So how did the President justify such an unprecedented, counterproductive, and harmful move?
01:28He cited the International Economy Emergency Powers Act to declare an emergency at our
01:35northern border, stating that fentanyl and undocumented migration constituted a national
01:42emergency in our relationship with Canada that justified the use of tariffs.
01:50The only problem?
01:52The justification just doesn't hold water.
01:56This International Economic Emergency Powers Act is intended for use in extraordinary cases
02:03related to foreign threats, such as placing sanctions on dictators.
02:09Trump's executive order declared a so-called emergency at our Canadian border and tied
02:15it to Canada's failure to prevent illicit drugs from being trafficked across the border.
02:22But Canada is openly willing to address this shared challenge and has cooperated with the
02:27United States.
02:29Let me be clear.
02:30Preventing the trafficking of fentanyl is a bipartisan priority, but the fact remains
02:35that less than one percent of fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada.
02:42Less than one percent.
02:44And Canada has made it clear long ago they're willing to work with us to reduce that amount.
02:51The President's use of IEPA to attempt to justify these tariffs is a shoddy excuse to
02:57ram through an unpopular agenda and bully yet another close ally of the United States.
03:04The President is manufacturing a fake emergency as a guise to enact billions of dollars in
03:09taxes on American consumers to fund massive tax cuts for his billionaire buddies.
03:16That is unacceptable.
03:17The consequences of this trade war will be painful and avoidable.
03:24Everyday Americans will feel it.
03:27If fully enacted, Trump's trade war will cause price hikes on nearly all basic goods.
03:33A new mother buying formula for a baby, parents buying groceries, a young person saving up
03:39for a car.
03:41Every American is going to feel it.
03:44This tariff policy of President Trump is going to be painful for American families.
03:49The impact on farmers, workers, consumers, and businesses across my state of Illinois
03:55sadly is going to be devastating.
03:59Canada is Illinois' largest export market.
04:03Illinois exports to Canada total $20 billion in 2023.
04:09Illinois ranks fifth among 50 U.S. states in exports to Canada, first in imports.
04:17And states across the nation are going to feel a similar impact.
04:21So it's no surprise the vast majority of Americans cannot understand what the President is trying
04:26to do when it comes to our relationship with a good friend, trusted ally, and historic
04:32partner, Canada.
04:33But President Trump recently said he couldn't care less.
04:38If carmakers hike prices in response to tariffs, he couldn't care less.
04:43Pushing forward with this plan, economists, experts, and even the White House itself admits
04:49it's going to be painful for American families.
04:52The last election was all about the cost of living.
04:55This is going to raise the cost of living for families across the United States.
04:59This tariff war.
05:00How does unnecessarily taking on, tanking our economy, alienating our allies, and taking
05:07money out of the wallets of Americans make us great again?
05:12Right now we should be focused on common sense ways to lower prices and fight inflation.
05:17We should be taking genuine steps to slow the flow of fentanyl across our borders, which
05:22Canada has made it clear they want to cooperate with us in achieving.
05:27We should be working with and not fighting against our closest allies like Canada.
05:32And these tariffs do none of that.
05:35That is why I'm supporting Senator Tim Kaine's resolution to block the President's abuse
05:40of emergency powers.
05:42I know Senate Democrats will stand up for American consumers.
05:46Can a few Republican colleagues join us?
05:48Or will he continue to let Donald Trump and Elon Musk enrich billionaires at the expense
05:53of hardworking American families?