Senators’ letter questions Commerce Secretary Lutnick over unprecedented use of national security tariffs 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, today joined Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in leading eight Senate colleagues to call out the Trump Administration’s unprecedented use of national security tariffs to pursue taxes on cars, appliances, and hundreds of other products.  

The Senators’ letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick raised concerns that Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act—which had been rarely used in the 20 years before Donald Trump became President—this year alone has been used to open 12 new investigations and expand others, spanning hundreds of products used by Americans every day. The massive scope of these investigations and the lack of transparency in the Commerce Department’s process undermine the integrity of a law that is intended to address true national security threats to the United States. 

“Trump’s tariffs are putting U.S. jobs, economic competitiveness, and credibility at risk by driving up costs for American businesses and consumers, creating significant uncertainty and confusion for importers, and alienating our allies,” the Senators wrote. “The reliance on Section 232 to pursue tariffs on everything from cars to household appliances and kitchen cabinets stretches the limited authority delegated by Congress.”  

The Senators called out the lack of public consultation, as well as the failure to publish the required reports to justify the tariffs: “Further, the Commerce Department has run an opaque, unaccountable process, making decisions behind closed doors, with no justification and with limited opportunity for the American public to weigh in on the tariffs they will have to pay.” 

In addition to Senators Welch and Wyden, the letter was signed by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). 

Read the full text of the Senators’ letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. 

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