Massachusetts congressman rejects ‘painful’ Trump tariffs
After a tumultuous week on Wall Street following President Donald Trump’s announcement of the highest import taxes in a century, Democratic members of Congress called out the Trump administration’s deal-making strategy.
Among them is Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss, whose Massachusetts district extends from Brookline and Newton south to Franklin and Fall River.
In an interview with GBH News, Auchincloss called Trump’s tariffs “the largest peacetime tax increase in American history” and raised concerns over how that will impact families living paycheck to paycheck and people heading into retirement.
“My constituents in their 50s and 60s who are nearing retirement and who just saw their 401(k)s go down by double digits? That is going to force some painful conversations about what retirement looks like,” Auchincloss said. “And it was entirely unnecessary and self-inflicted.”
The Trump administration initially announced a broad range of tariffs on most trading partners but instituted a 90-day pause after a bond market sell off and growing fears of a recession.
Trump has also imposed a minimum tariff rate of 145% on all Chinese exports to the United States. In an escalating trade war, China responded Friday by raising its tariffs to 125%.
Auchincloss said the recent economic chaos has been a gift for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“It is actually going to drive him closer to Europe and get him better terms of trade with Europe,” he said. “And it has undercut our leverage when we negotiate with China.”
He added that Trump’s sudden 90-day pause on most tariffs on other nations’ goods “made the United States look weak in front of our trading counterparties.”
When it comes to pushing back against Trump’s policies, Auchincloss praised the judiciary for enforcing checks and balances, but said Republican House and Senate leaders have sidelined Congress.
“Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune don’t think of themselves as leaders of a separate and co-equal branch of government. They think of themselves as courtiers to Mar-a-Lago,” Auchincloss said.
Approval ratings for both parties have soured, and the Democratic Party reached a new record low among Democratic voters who want more done to stop Trump.
Auchincloss said he recognizes the frustration and anxiety within the party, and stressed that Democrats need more inter-party debate as well as the discipline to vote together to oppose Trump’s policies.
“I’m trying to do my part by engaging in really vigorous debate with fellow Democrats about where we go from here, but also being super clear that ultimately, we as a party are going to draw a sharp line in defense of core values,” he said.
By: Diego Lopez
Source: WGBH