TARIFFS HURT EVERYONE

On 2025-03-11, Representative Bill Foster (D-IL-11) delivered a floor speech titled "TARIFFS HURT EVERYONE" in the House. The speech addressed immigration and also covered the economy, taxes.

TARIFFS HURT EVERYONE

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 45 (Tuesday, March 11, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 11, 2025)] [House] [Pages H1133-H1136] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TARIFFS HURT EVERYONE (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Foster of Illinois was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.) General Leave Mr. FOSTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material for the Record. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Illinois? There was no objection. Mr. FOSTER. Mr. Speaker, I will first thank my colleagues on the Democratic Rapid Response Task Force and Litigation Working Group for helping us with these various Special Order hours discussing the Trump administration's various reckless actions. Tonight, I rise to bring attention to an issue that really should have all Americans on alert, which are President Trump's tariff policies. Since the beginning of this administration, American businesses, manufacturers, and families have been stuck in limbo as the Trump administration has repeatedly threatened, then implemented, then paused, then restarted tariffs, creating uncertainty and instability. The most recent policy shift to a 25 percent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico has been fraught with delays and exemptions, leaving American businesses, manufacturers, and consumers just stuck in limbo, not knowing how to react and how to make their plans. In fact, just this morning, Trump doubled planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada to 50 percent. Then, a mere couple hours ago, a spokesman from the White House said that the tariffs on Canada were back down to 25 percent. Who knows? In true Trump administration fashion, this is complete and utter chaos. Yet, the truth is that these tariffs, no matter if and when they go into full effect, whether it is this week or next month, they will all ultimately have the same result: higher prices for everyday goods and a less competitive U.S. manufacturing sector. In fact, a business in my district, which makes precision-form steel tubing components, told me that the price of hot rolled steel is up 33 percent since Trump's inauguration in anticipation of these tariffs, and there is just no way that they are going to be able to avoid passing these inflationary price increases on to their customers. According to an analysis from the Yale Budget Lab, if implemented fully, these tariffs would cost the average American family between $1,600 and $2,000 a year, with working-class families, who can least afford it, being hit the hardest. Prices would spike across the board. Electronics, like computers, phones, and TVs, could rise by 11 percent; clothing, up by 7.5 percent; cars and auto parts, up by 6 percent; groceries, up 2 percent with fresh produce rising nearly 3 percent. Oil and other energy costs will rise over 1.6 percent, making it more expensive for families to fill up their gas tanks and heat their homes. Mr. Speaker, Trump is trying to spin these tariffs as something that is solely attacks on foreign companies, but history and macroeconomic facts tell us otherwise. When Trump first imposed tariffs during his first administration, it was not other countries that paid, but it was American consumers and businesses. Importers passed these cost increases on to their consumers, and domestic producers hiked their own prices in response. This made U.S. manufacturers less competitive worldwide. In fact, in the last administration, Trump's policies put us into a manufacturing recession well before COVID hit. Beyond hurting hardworking American families, these tariffs threatened the stability of our economy. Analysts from across the political spectrum warned that they could slash 2.3 percent from GDP by 2026, wiping out a lot of projected growth. Markets also reacted with great uncertainty, as they should. The stocks have dropped, and consumer confidence is cratering. For American farmers, many of whom are already facing mounting economic challenges, the situation is even more dire. The costs of critical supplies, such as fertilizer, fuel, and equipment, will skyrocket, making it harder for farmers to maintain their operations. Mr. Speaker, I was just at an event earlier today with corn farmers from the Midwest. For example, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, Canada supplies over 80 percent of our potash imports, which are an essential component for agricultural fertilizer. Guess who the next leading producers are after Canada? Russia, China, and Belarus. Wouldn't it be better if we could import from our friends in Canada instead of Russia, China, and Belarus, or does our President feel differently? {time} 1900 In any case, with increased costs, farmers will be forced to either raise prices or absorb the losses, neither of which is sustainable in the long run. Besides rising costs, farmers are already facing devastating losses in international markets. China, the largest export market for U.S. food products, has already announced retaliatory tariffs on key American agricultural goods, including wheat, corn, soybeans, pork, and dairy products. [[Page H1134]] Mexico, our largest corn export market, knows what they are going to do because they did it last time. When Trump did various things to insult the people of Mexico and assault their economy, they simply stopped buying corn from the United States and began buying it from Brazil. Brazil, by the way, gets two crops a year, which, when you tell that to corn farmers in the Midwest, they react. We are in danger of losing these markets permanently if Trump continues what he did in his last go-around on tariffs. According to the USDA, in fact, the last time President Trump engaged in a trade war, it cost U.S. farmers nearly $30 billion in lost sales and market disruptions. In an effort to keep the farmers' heads above water, $30 billion of taxpayer money was sent their way. That is not what farmers want. For decades, American farmers have worked tirelessly to expand access to foreign markets, ensuring their products reach consumers around the world. These new tariffs will undo years of progress in expanding those markets, closing off opportunities and shrinking demand for American- grown goods in a foreign market, something which domestic consumption alone cannot compensate for. Finally, Mr. Speaker, long before coming to Congress and long before my career as a scientist, I started a manufacturing company with my brother. Starting with $500 from our parents, we built a company that now manufactures over half of all the theater lighting equipment in the United States. It provides over 1,300 manufacturing jobs in the Midwest. We do hardware, software, painting, wiring harnesses, customer support, everything, and I am very proud that we have kept those good manufacturing jobs in the United States. That is why boosting the U.S. manufacturing and creating manufacturing jobs here has always been a top priority of mine and why I was so horrified at the damage done to U.S. manufacturing by the last set of Trump tariffs. I watched with deep concern as the first Trump administration's tariffs and our other trade policies put us in a manufacturing recession a year before COVID even started. Once again, Trump is pursuing a failed economic policy that is going to do nothing to bring jobs back, but instead it will drive up costs, kill growth, and undermine U.S. manufacturing, the very sector that he claims to protect. Manufacturers will be hit with soaring costs. Many U.S. manufacturers rely on imported raw materials, such as steel, aluminum, and auto parts from Canada and Mexico. These tariffs will increase costs across the supply chains, making it harder to produce goods economically and much harder for U.S. manufacturers to export their goods in a competitive world environment. Contrary to what Trump and the Republicans are trying to say, higher costs mean fewer jobs. When manufacturers face rising production expenses, they are forced to either pass those costs on to consumers, further driving up inflation, or cut jobs and production. Studies have shown that Trump's previous tariffs led to job losses, not gains, in the manufacturing sector. American manufacturers will, once again, struggle to compete globally. By making essential inputs more expensive, Trump is weakening U.S. manufacturers against foreign competitors who are not burdened with these artificial price hikes. Not to mention, manufacturers will likely be hit by retaliatory tariffs when trying to export their goods to the countries that President Trump has targeted. This is not America First; this is America last in the global economy. The last trade war was a disaster. Under Trump's first round of tariffs, manufacturers suffered as input prices soared, supply chains were disrupted, and retaliatory tariffs from other nations crushed U.S. exports. This time the consequences could be even worse. The truth is, there are no winners in trade wars, only those left to bear the burden of higher costs, lost jobs, and economic instability. Instead of strengthening our economy, Trump and his Republican allies are needlessly putting it at risk, gambling with the livelihoods of American families. When the U.S. is threatened with a recession, you don't have to take my word for it, you can read the front page of The Wall Street Journal. It will be those policies who are to blame. Mr. Speaker, I am glad to be joined by my colleague, Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury. As a Representative of the southern border State, New Mexico, she knows all too well, the importance of fair trade with Mexico for our Nation's economy and especially for working families' wallets. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentl