Republicans are going public with their growing worries about Trump's
tariffs
[April 09, 2025]
By STEPHEN GROVES
WASHINGTON (AP) — Manufacturers struggling to make long-term plans.
Farmers facing retaliation from Chinese buyers. U.S. households burdened
with higher prices.
Republican senators are confronting the Trump administration with those
worries and many more as they fret about the economic impact of the
president's sweeping tariff strategy that went into effect Wednesday.
In a Senate hearing and interviews with reporters this week, Republican
skepticism of President Donald Trump's policies ran unusually high.
While GOP lawmakers made sure to direct their concern at Trump's aides
and advisers — particularly U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer,
who appeared before the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday — it still
amounted to a rare Republican break from a president they have otherwise
championed.
Lawmakers had reason to worry: the stock market has been in a volatile
tumble for days and economists are warning that the plans could lead to
a recession.
"Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Republican
Sen. Thom Tillis told Greer as he pressed for an answer on which Trump
aide to hold accountable if there is an economic downturn.
Tillis' frustration was aimed at the across-the-board tariff strategy
that could potentially hamstring U.S. manufacturers who are currently
dependent on materials like aluminum and steel from China. His home
state of North Carolina, where he is up for reelection next year, has
attracted thousands of foreign firms looking to invest in the state's
manufacturing industries.
Ever wary of crossing Trump, Republicans engaged in a delicate two-step
of criticizing the rollout of the tariffs then shifting to praise for
the president's economic vision. In the afternoon, Tillis in a Senate
floor speech said that the “president is right in challenging other
nations who have for decades abused their relationship with the United
States," yet went on to question who in the White House was thinking
through the long-term economic effects of the sweeping tariffs.
Tillis even allowed that Trump's trade strategy could still turn out to
be effective, but said there is a short window to show that it is worth
the higher prices and layoffs that will burden workers.
For his part, Greer emphasized to the committee that the U.S. was
engaged in negotiations with other countries but that “the trade deficit
has been decades in the making, and it's not going to be solved
overnight.”
Republican leaders in Congress, as well as a sizeable chunk of
lawmakers, have emphasized that Trump needs time to implement his
strategy. They've mostly rejected the idea of putting a check on Trump's
tariff power, but it is clear that anxiety is growing among
rank-and-file Republicans about what's ahead.
Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, said there is a company in
his state that had spent “millions of dollars" moving its parts
production from China to Vietnam. But now that Vietnam is facing steep
tariffs, the business is unable to move forward with negotiating prices
with retailers.
Lankford pressed Greer for a timeline for negotiations, but the trade
representative responded, “We don’t have any particular timeline. The
outcome is more important than setting something artificially for us.”
[to top of second column]
|
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., listens as U.S. Trade Representative
Jamieson Greer as he testifies before the Senate Finance Committee
on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP
Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Trade agreements between countries typically take months or even
years to work out and often require the parties to navigate through
a host of legal, economic and business issues. Still, Republicans
said they were encouraged by the indications that Trump is entering
into negotiations with other nations.
Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, said at the committee
hearing that he was “very encouraged” by news of trade negotiations
and attributed a momentary upward tick in the stock market to “hope
that these tariffs are a means and not solely an end.”
He told Greer, "Who pays these high tariffs? It will be the
consumer. I’m worried about the inflationary effect. I’m worried if
there is a trade war that we’re going to have markets shutting down
for American farmers, ranchers and manufacturers.”
Other GOP lawmakers contended that the pain was worth bearing.
Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, a member of the
conservative Freedom Caucus, said the president is on the right
track.
“It’s pain, but it’s going to be,” he said. “The president will make
the right call. He’s doing the right thing.”
Still, traditional Republicans were looking for ways to push back on
Trump's tariff plan.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, a senior Republican, has introduced a
bipartisan bill to give Congress the power to review and approve of
new tariffs, and Republican members in the House were also working
to gain support for a similar bill. Such legislation would allow
Congress to claw back some of its constitutional power over tariff
policy, which has been almost completely handed over to the
president in recent decades through legislation.
But the White House has already indicated that Trump would veto the
bill, and both Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have said they are not interested in
bringing it up for a vote.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican closely aligned with Trump, said
on social media that the bill was a bad idea because “Congress moves
at the pace of a tortoise running a race.”
“The reason why Congress gave this authority to the president to
begin with is because the ability to pivot,” he added.
But the president's unclear messaging has also left lawmakers only
guessing as they try to decipher which advisers and aides hold sway
in the White House.
Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said that as he’s
received calls from the business community in his state, he’s had no
answers for them besides telling them the prospects for the economy
are uncertain. The communication from the president’s aides has
often been conflicting, Kennedy said even as he voiced support for
Trump’s long-term goals.
Kennedy told reporters, “I don’t think there’s any way to double or
triple your tariffs on the world when you're the wealthiest country
in all of human history without being somewhat shambolic."
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
