Neal Statement on Trump Administration Backing Down on Illegal, Price-Hiking IEEPA Tariffs

SPRINGFIELD, MA— Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) released the following statement after it was reported that the Trump Administration will back down on their tariff scheme to lower prices, a stunning admission that their policies have been needlessly and illegally raising costs on the American people:

“The Trump Administration is finally admitting publicly what we’ve all known from the start: Trump’s Trade War is hiking costs on people. Since implementing these tariffs, inflation has increased and manufacturing has contracted month after month. Families are being squeezed as grocery prices rise, and our farmers and ranchers have been abandoned as a record number of them stare down a path to bankruptcy. 

“The fact remains that Trump and Republicans will move mountains to enrich themselves, bail out Argentina, and slash taxes for billionaires, but will only ease up on everyday people when their pain becomes a political liability. In their subservience to his cruelty, House Republicans have blocked the House from even lifting a finger to deliver relief. All of this could be over with a vote.

“Putting out a fire that they started and claiming it as progress, while millions are being socked with doubling health care premiums, is not the victory the Administration is sure to claim it to be. Damage remains, and workers and families still need higher wages, better opportunities, and leadership that puts them first. Every day that Trump’s tariffs remain in place is another day that families, small businesses, farms, and manufacturers get crushed. It’s time to end the entire Trade War and for House Republicans to let Congress restore its rightful authority.” 

After prevailing in two lower Courts, Neal and House Democrats’ Litigation Task Force are leading the fight against Trump’s illegal tariffs, including spearheading an amicus brief filed before the Supreme Court. 

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