[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 62 (Monday, April 7, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2450-S2451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                TARIFFS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, make no mistake about it, Donald Trump is 
teeing up a nationwide recession.
  Less than a week after Donald Trump started the largest, dumbest 
trade war in American history, all the signs say America is heading 
toward calamity.
  A report by JPMorgan entitled ``There Will Be Blood,'' warned these 
policies, if sustained, would likely push the United States and 
possibly the global economy into a recession this year. An update of 
our probability scenario tree makes this point, raising the risk of a 
recession this year to 60 percent. That is the conservative, cautious 
JPMorgan--60-percent chance of a recession.
  Barclays, meanwhile, said Donald Trump's tariffs will cause inflation 
to nearly double as America enters a recession.
  HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America all said the same thing--the 
tariffs have made a recession more likely. And now, today, Goldman 
Sachs is the one saying ``danger.''
  Some analysts say the damage is already done; $6 trillion of value 
has been wiped out. Any community in America that relies on trade or 
tourism or farming or energy or any wide range of industries is at risk 
of a recession.
  My State of New York, my city of New York, certainly, are at that 
risk and heading right in that direction, unfortunately.
  Consumer activity is going to go down. Demand is going to suffer. 
Unemployment is going up.
  And maybe worst of all, Donald Trump's tariff tax is the largest tax 
hike since before the Vietnam war. Families will pay $5,000 extra a 
year for groceries, appliances, for drugs, for clothes, for cars, for 
gasoline, and so, so much more. Everywhere they look, Americans are 
going to see prices going up, going up.
  Donald Trump campaigned on the fact there was too much inflation, and 
yet he is going to cause--he is causing already--a ton of it. So let me 
say it again: Donald Trump is teeing up a nationwide recession. If a 
recession does happen, it will be known as the Trump recession.
  I urge the President to back off from his disastrous tariffs 
immediately. He should put down the golf clubs and pick up the papers 
because the disaster he has created is anything but great.
  On the contrary, ``Liberation Day'' is quickly turning into Donald 
Trump's infamous ``Mission Accomplished'' moment. Congress must 
immediately take back power from Donald Trump before he causes more 
damage to the economy.
  Leader Thune has a responsibility to listen to American families 
worried about the price of groceries, worried about their retirement, 
worried about keeping their jobs, and worried about the future. The 
Republican leader should make passing tariff legislation the top 
priority of the Senate this week.
  At his press conference a few minutes ago, Donald Trump just said he 
is not looking at a pause. Now the only hope the American people have 
to avoid calamity rests on Senator Thune's shoulders. So Senator Thune 
has a decision to make: Side with Donald Trump or his destructive 
policies or side with the American people.
  I was deeply disappointed last Friday night when Senate Republicans 
rejected my measure last week to halt

[[Page S2451]]

any tariffs since January 20 if prices for groceries, medicines, and 
other essential goods went up.
  I hope Republicans reconsider their opposition the next time we vote 
in reconciliation or else they will continue to get an earful from 
their constituents back home.
  Talk about canceled townhall meetings that Republicans had to do in 
the House, they are going to have to cancel a whole lot more unless 
they start listening to the American people.
  This shouldn't be a partisan issue. Most Senators know deep down 
these tariffs are a disaster for the country.

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