Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are demanding that the panel’s chairman, Republican Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), hold a hearing on President Trump’s authority to impose tariffs on more than 180 countries, citing the “economic chaos” caused by Trump’s “lack of a coherent strategy.”
“Tariffs can be critical to grow American industry and promote good manufacturing jobs. But many of the president’s tariffs lack a coherent strategy, generating economic chaos and giving giant corporations an excuse to raise prices on Americans,” the Democratic senators wrote in an April 6 letter to Scott.
The Democrats noted that the Republican-controlled Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs has jurisdiction over key aspects of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which Trump has cited as his authority to impose sweeping tariffs.
Warren and her colleagues also warned that Trump may grant tariff exemptions to allied business leaders and industry.
“The president’s tariffs also raise concerns about whether he will repeat mistakes from his first term in handing out exceptions to well-connected friends or companies at the expense of everyone else,” they wrote.
A study by researchers from the SUNY Buffalo, Fordham University, University of Oklahoma and Lehigh University published in The Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis found that companies that made political contributions and investments to help Republicans before and during Trump’s first term were more likely to win tariff exemptions.
Meanwhile, companies that supported Democrats were less likely to secure tariff exemptions.
Senate Democrats said a hearing in the Banking Committee would help shed more light on Trump’s tariff policies.
“We urge you to hold a hearing so the American people can understand the president’s plan and how it will affect their economic futures,” they wrote.
