(NewsNation) — The Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing on trade negotiations Tuesday, following the announcement of President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs and the stock market fallout.
Senators on both sides of the aisle pressed trade negotiator Jamieson Greer on the tariffs, including a lack of process for businesses to ask for exclusions and the widespread impact on both the stock market and everyday Americans.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., opened with an announcement that he was introducing bipartisan legislation to undo the latest round of tariffs. He slammed the use of tariffs and their impact on rising prices for Americans.
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“The U.S. economy has gone from the envy of the world to a laughingstock in less time than it took to finish March Madness,” he said.
In his opening statement, Greer repeated the administration’s critiques of trade deficits with other countries.
“It is a moment of drastic, overdue change, but I am confident the American people will rise to the occasion as they have done before,” Greer said.
Greer defended the tariffs, falling back on the justification of trade deficits and non-tariff burdens, including health, safety and environmental regulations in other countries that exceed those of the U.S. He was unable to say how long Americans could expect to feel pain from the tariffs or how long they might last.
Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, welcomed questions on trade policy but defended tariffs in his opening statements and blamed the Biden administration for failing to address trade deficits.
“We can restore faith in free markets by making it easier to do business in America than ever,” he said.
Trump announced his promised tariffs last week, shocking the business and financial world — as well as Republican allies — with steeper duties than expected.
The administration placed a 10% tariff on all countries and unveiled a list of around 60 countries with individualized tariffs that included both adversaries and traditional U.S. allies.
The stock market tumbled following the announcement, with brief periods of optimism as countries indicated a willingness to negotiate and a false rumor that the tariffs would be suspended for 90 days.
A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation that would move the power of tariffs from the president to Congress, making it impossible for Trump to implement them unilaterally.
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While economists and business leaders have warned that the steep tariffs are likely to cause a recession and raise prices significantly for American consumers, Trump has remained committed to the plan.
He has welcomed countries that have vowed to reduce their own tariffs on the United States but said that the new tariffs are here to stay. Trump promised more tariffs on China, a move that would bring the tariff on Chinese imports to more than 100%.
