Democrats are attacking President Donald Trump for using new authority to impose tariffs on countries, but they’re being disingenuous in the process.
That’s because most Senate Democrats approved those new authorities as part of a Russia sanctions bill passed in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
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Trump this week imposed new tariffs on Canada after a trade deal in the works collapsed at the last minute. Senate Democrats who left D.C. last week to begin a five-week summer recess immediately criticized him for it, even though they voted for the new authority.
The vote highlighted a political contradiction for Senate Democrats, who spent years criticizing President Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs but overwhelmingly supported legislation giving him sweeping new tariff authority targeting Russia and countries that purchase Russian energy.
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Under the legislation, Trump would have authority to impose tariffs of up to 500% on certain Russian imports and penalties of up to 100% on goods from the five largest purchasers of Russian energy, a group that includes major economies such as China and India.
Only nine Democrats joined Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky in voting against the package.
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Days later, Trump imposed 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods covering roughly $20 billion in imports. Those tariffs were separate from the Russia sanctions legislation and were imposed under different authority.
Still, the timing gave Republicans an opening to accuse Democrats of hypocrisy on trade policy.
Democrats had just voted to give Trump substantial new tariff powers in the context of Russia, only to resume criticizing his broader use of tariffs shortly afterward.
The episode underscored a distinction Democrats will now have to make politically: supporting tariffs as an economic weapon against Russia and its major energy customers while opposing Trump’s use of tariffs against longtime U.S. trading partners such as Canada.
“It gives Donald Trump massive new tariff authority that he can use to threaten our trading partners and raise prices on the American people,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), complained on the Senate floor before the vote.
“It gives Donald Trump massive new tariff authority that he can use to threaten our trading partners and raise prices on the American people,” he said – though all presidents moving forward can use it after Trump leaves office, unless there are changes to the law.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut was one of the principal architects of the sanctions package, working alongside the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina to build bipartisan support for the legislation.
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The two senators spent more than a year developing and negotiating the measure, which was ultimately named in Graham’s honor following his death in July.
Asked whether he was concerned that Trump could misuse the substantial tariff authority provided under the legislation, Blumenthal dismissed those fears.
“If Donald Trump wants to break this law, he will be restrained by the courts, just as when he broke the law on tariffs previously,” he told the outlet.
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He said the legislation limits tariffs to the top five buyers of Russian energy only.
“We can’t do any more than be explicit in limiting his authority to the top five purchasers, and only those countries, by the terms, specific in the legislation,” he said.
Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock took a different approach to concerns about the legislation’s sweeping tariff provisions.
Rather than opposing the sanctions package or seeking to remove its tariff authority, Warnock raised his concerns directly with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
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“It was important to hold Putin accountable. He is a war criminal. His aggression towards Ukraine has national security implications for us,” Warnock said.
“But at the same time, it was important to put some guardrails on this president. And I think I made considerable progress in making sure that that happens,” he added.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
