[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                TARIFFS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last Friday, the Supreme Court ruled to 
strike down most--70 percent--of Trump's tariff taxes.
  Tariffs can be useful when used strategically, but President Trump 
exceeded these authorities, as clearly defined by Congress, and the 
Supreme Court, by a vote of 6 to 3, told him as much. He defied basic 
economic sense. Just ask any American business or consumer who suffered 
under this chaotic policy.
  Last year, the average American family paid more than $1,700 in 
tariff costs. A tariff tax, as described by the President, sounds like 
a problem for the exporter to the United States. It is not. It is paid 
by the importer. That turns out to be the American consumer.
  So, at a time when families are struggling to make ends meet, when 
the cost of living is going up, the products that they are buying--many 
of them--are subject to Trump's tariff tax, and they have to pay it, 
how much does that mean for each American family? It means $1,700 a 
year.
  A recent report from the New York Fed found that 90 percent of the 
economic burden of Trump's tariff taxes fell on Americans--not on 
foreigners but on Americans.
  How did the Trump administration respond to it? They said the 
researchers needed to be ``disciplined.''
  The chaos unleashed by this administration's attacks on American 
businesses and consumers also resulted in a massive decline in 
manufacturing jobs last year--jobs the President promised he would be 
creating and would be booming. In fact, U.S. factories employ 72,000 
fewer people than they did in April of 2025, with more declines every 
single month.
  The President has also broken his promise many times over to the 
farmers in Illinois. His tariffs have made farming in Illinois 
unprofitable--not just by making the fertilizer, seeds, machinery, and 
equipment more expensive but also by wrecking export markets like China 
for years to come.
  I have met with these farmers throughout my congressional career. 
They are proud, hard-working people. They are the backbone of so many 
communities across our State.
  I meet with them, and they say: Senator, all we want the Federal 
Government to do is get the heck out of the way. We grow the best crops 
in the world. We can compete with any country on Earth. Just don't make 
our job more difficult by government action.
  The tariffs did make it more difficult for these farmers, and they 
told me as much.
  Last week's decision was a victory for America and a defeat for this 
President. It was a victory for the rule of law. But the damage has 
been done to small businesses and balance sheets across this country.
  But instead of reconsidering his position after a clear 6-to-3 loss 
in the Supreme Court, President Trump is whipsawing between new 
tariffs--new taxes--resulting in the European Union halting a trade 
deal with us as they consider their next steps.
  Chaos, turmoil--the President thrives on it, but American families 
and the economy do not. It is up to Congress to reject those desperate 
gambles by the President. Congress must also act to ensure that small 
businesses across the country get their money back as soon as possible.
  And how about the families who paid for these products that have been 
taxed by the Trump tariff tax? They deserve relief too. If we are 
concerned about the cost of living as it hits American families, they 
need to have some relief, too, and the President, after losing in the 
Supreme Court, should pay this money back.

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