A bipartisan group of senators is introducing a resolution to repeal President Donald Trump’s global tariffs, after the administration ignited a trade war with countries around the world.
Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., led the resolution, which was also signed onto by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
“Tariffs are taxes, and the power to tax belongs to Congress—not the president,” Paul said in a statement. “Our Founders were clear: tax policy should never rest in the hands of one person. Abusing emergency powers to impose blanket tariffs not only drives up costs for American families but also tramples on the Constitution. It’s time Congress reasserts its authority and restores the balance of power.”
Paul has been a staunch critic of tariffs during his time in office and has consistently opposed the use of emergency declarations to circumvent Congress.
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The measure will be treated as a privileged resolution that must receive a vote on the Senate floor, according to a press release. If approved, the resolution would vacate the emergency that Trump declared in an executive order to impose tariffs of up to 49% on goods Americans buy that are produced by other countries.
Following Trump’s tariff announcement, markets have cratered, manufacturers have laid off thousands of workers and foreign countries have responded by imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural and manufactured goods.
“Trump is driving our economy into a recession, killing jobs and wiping out seniors’ retirement funds as we speak,” Wyden said. “Enough is enough. No president should have the power to tax everything Americans buy without being accountable to Congress. Unless Republicans join with Democrats and take back Congress’s power over trade policy, the damage could take years to reverse.”
Last week, Trump announced so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on trading partners around the world, including countries such as Singapore that apply zero tariffs on U.S. goods.
The president’s tariffs brought the total levies against China up to 104% starting Wednesday morning. Trump announced last week a 34% tariff against the country on top of the 20% duty he imposed earlier this year. China retaliated by matching the 34% tariff, prompting Trump to impose an additional 50% tariff if Beijing did not withdraw its tariffs on U.S. goods by his Tuesday afternoon deadline.
China has vowed to “fight to the end” and says it would not back down from Trump’s “blackmail.”
Other U.S. tariffs include 46% on Vietnam, 32% on Taiwan, 24% on Japan and 10% on Singapore, as well as 20% on the European Union.
Some countries are imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods while others say they will not implement duties against the U.S. as they seek to negotiate with the Trump administration.
“No President has the authority to unilaterally impose such sweeping across-the-board tariffs without congressional approval,” Kaine said. “President Trump’s tariff strategy is raising costs on American families, threatening alliances our national security depends on, and creating opportunity for China and other adversaries to take advantage of global instability. The time is now for Congress to reassert its authority in matters of international trade, and I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join us.”
Warren said Trump’s “reckless agenda” will hurt American families, small businesses and manufacturers, adding that the tariffs are “economic sabotage.”
Additionally, Schumer stressed that Trump “is leading America headfirst into a recession, with no plans on how to right the cratering economy” and Kaine argued that the president’s tariff strategy is raising costs on American families, threatening alliances that national security relies on and creating opportunity for China and other adversaries to take advantage of global instability.
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“The time is now for Congress to reassert its authority in matters of international trade, and I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join us,” Kaine added.
This is just the latest bipartisan effort on Capitol Hill to rein in Trump’s executive action on taxes against foreign countries.
Last week, a resolution reversing Trump’s tariffs against Canada advanced in the Senate, with Paul and fellow Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky joining Democrats to pass the measure in a 51 to 48 vote. Paul was a co-sponsor of that resolution, which was introduced by Kaine.
The following day, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced the Trade Review Act of 2025, which would require the president to notify Congress about any new tariffs within 48 hours of imposition.
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