VIDEO: Rand outraged by Tariffs on the Senate floor: "We're here today because ONE person wants to raise taxes ... "

X ^ | April 3 | Young Americans for Liberty

[RainMan]

Words have meaning. Not all government sources of income are taxes. A Tariff is called a Tariff specifically because it does not act, behave or is implemented as a tax.

[central_va]

There was a time when rising wages was considered a good thing in this country.

[logi_cal869]

John Browne, an adviser to the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, praised on Newsmax Wednesday President Donald Trump's actions to instill fair trade for the United States.

"Who can possibly argue with someone who's fighting for fair trade? Even trade unfettered by tariffs on either side," Browne said of Trump on "American Agenda."

"Great Britain has, I think, very sensibly, despite a socialist prime minister, agreed to negotiate," Browne continued. "And I understand, contrary to what I was hearing just now, the negotiations are going very well."

"People must wake up that America is the largest economy in the world — commanded by a patriotic American, and he's the most powerful man in the world. And people that go against him are going to suffer."

Speaking from the Rose Garden Wednesday afternoon, Trump announced he would be signing an executive order "instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world."

"Reciprocal," Trump emphasized. "That means they do it to us, and we do it to them. Very simple."

Couldn't have outlined it better myself.

John Browne to Newsmax: Trump Championing Fair Trade

[lone star annie]

And he ensured that we have more H1-bs for nurses. Importing more foreigners to take middle class jobs. Typical libertarian.

[nopardons]

BTTT

[bantam]

For as many times he may be right, He is completely off base here!
He’s being a useful idiot of the left!
Getting kind of sick him to be honest!

[Samurai_Jack]

Stuck on stupid

Yep what he said.

[tennmountainman]

Paul is just another bought and paid for politician.

[Antoninus]

Apparently, the deep staters are only happy when the tariffs are levied on us, not when we levy them on others.

Makes sense.

[BushCountry]

“Does anyone have sympathy?”

No, because Rand is an idiot. He is too stupid to realize the the Tariffs will bring back over 7 trillion dollars in new manufacturing into the US. He is a globalist clown who America should not have any manufacturing jobs. These Tariffs will return America to it’s glory days. He wants us to be a weak gutless pawn that allows other countries to rape us.

What a buffoon and democrat shill.

[hardspunned]

“North American sales (with about 70% of Toyotas sold in the
U.S. being built in North America), it’s reasonable to infer that a very high percentage of Camrys made in Kentucky stay in the U.S.
Historically, Toyota has indicated that the majority of vehicles produced at TMMK are intended for the U.S. market.” Grok

Rand is lying on this one.

I’m also old enough to remember multiple steel mills in Northern Kentucky. None now.

[Hot Rod Garage]

Didn’t the Supreme Court decide that Obamacare was a tax? SO therefore tariffs being a tax then the SC ok with that??? Just asking.

[Bratch]

President Trump Global Trade and Tariff Reset – Resources and Discussion

April 3, 2025 | Sundance 

Here are the basic resources you need to dive into President Trump’s global trade and tariff reset.  Topline opinion at the end of the document summaries.

♦ United States Trade Representative: 397-page detailed analysis of global trade relationships with the United States.

The 2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE) is the 40th report in an annual series that highlights significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic commerce. This document is a companion piece to the President’s 2025 Trade Policy Agenda and 2024 Annual Report, published by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on February 28, 2025. SEE REPORT HERE

♦ President Trump Executive Order: Regulating Imports with a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices that Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits. READ EXECUTIVE ORDER HERE:

♦ ANNEX #1 – Outlining the tariff rate per country as assigned.  SEE HERE

[SOURCE]

♦ ANNEX #2: 37-pages outlining the products that are exempted from the globally specified tariffs.

The tariffs generally target completed goods, finished durable goods, not necessarily the chemical components or compounds needed if we are to manufacture or build the product in the USA.  Therefore Annex 2 provides the list of all products, chemicals, components and compounds that are exempt from the tariff program.  [SEE EXEMPTIONS HERE]

♦ USTR Calculations for Tariff Rates – Reciprocal tariffs are calculated as the tariff rate necessary to balance bilateral trade deficits between the U.S. and each of our trading partners.

This calculation assumes that persistent trade deficits are due to a combination of tariff and non-tariff factors that prevent trade from balancing. Tariffs work through direct reductions of imports.  [SEE FORMULA HERE]

[SOURCE and Reference]

♦ Special Handling Status for China:  China has an additional set of import duty rules and regulations that pertain to the removal of de minimis exemptions for China.  These rule changes only impact China.  [Additional Executive Order]  

CLOSING LOOPHOLES IN THE TARIFF SYSTEM: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order eliminating duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value imports from China.  [De Minimis Rule Change]

One of the first things people are noticing is the depth of the targeting program.  Factually, many of the countries targeted to receive reciprocal tariffs, only produce the products they manufacture as extensions of the American economy.  The country itself doesn’t have the native market, industry, or expertise, etc.  Corporations have exploited the cheap labor and resources in these types of countries, and they only produce [WIDGET-X] ‘to sell to us‘.  We are their only customer.

For those countries, and for those with limited options of market expansion (ex. Vietnam), they have no option other than to concede to the tariff pressure and lower any import barrier as part of a free trade agreement.  These less developed countries will be the first to equalize tariff and non-tariff barriers; however, even with their markets wide open they will not be able to purchase U.S. products, because they simply don’t have the money or consumer market for our expensive stuff.

Summary:  The trade reset and tariff program directly target historic imbalances.  If the regime is executed as currently drawn up, the 80-year-old Marshal Plan of one-way tariffs by the EU/U.K effectively comes to an end.  China has special status in all of the trade considerations and has several unilateral targeting mechanisms within the trade reset that are directed specifically toward them.

[ChessExpert]

At least some tariffs in the past were Congressionally initiated law. Are there any tariffs that did not go before Congress? I asked Grok:

“Yes, there have been U.S. tariffs imposed without direct congressional approval, as the president has authority under certain laws to enact tariffs unilaterally. Congress has delegated some of its constitutional power to regulate commerce and impose tariffs to the executive branch through various statutes, allowing presidents to act without prior congressional consent in specific circumstances.

For example, during his first term, President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel (25%) and aluminum (10%) imports in 2018 under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. This law allows the president to adjust tariffs if the Department of Commerce determines that imports threaten national security. Trump used this authority to apply tariffs to multiple countries, including allies like Canada and the European Union, without Congress voting on the specific measures. The process involved an investigation by the Commerce Department, but no congressional approval was required.

Another instance is Trump’s use of Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which authorizes the president to impose tariffs in response to unfair foreign trade practices. In 2018 and 2019, he levied tariffs on Chinese goods—starting at 25% on $34 billion worth of imports and later expanding—citing China’s intellectual property theft and trade imbalances. These actions were initiated after an investigation by the U.S. Trade Representative, but Congress did not vote on them.

Historically, President Richard Nixon also imposed a 10% tariff on all imports in 1971 under the Trading with the Enemy Act, citing a balance-of-payments crisis. This broad surcharge lasted four months and did not require congressional approval, though it relied on emergency powers broader than typical trade laws.

These examples show that while Congress holds the constitutional authority to set tariffs, it has granted the president significant leeway through laws like the Trade Expansion Act, the Trade Act of 1974, and others. Such tariffs bypass the need for a congressional vote, though Congress can later attempt to repeal or modify them—efforts that often face a presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds majority to override.”

I’m not going to ponder these precedents right now. It would be great if we can get follow-up legislation to confirm President Trump’s decisions.

[grobdriver]

Seems to me this country has levied tarrifs on one thing or another for quite some time.

[BlackbirdSST]

How much are you getting paid to pimp this clown?

[FreedomNotSafety]

The money is taken from the purchaser and given to the US government. Tariffs are taxes. What else are they? It’s a tax levied on purchases. It is a tax on the purchase of imported goods and services.

You can call it a tariff or a duty or a levy or an assessment or even a contribution (if you want to act like a Democrat) or you can face reality.

Like any tax its purpose is to either raise revenue or change behavior.

[hardspunned]

Europe charges a 10% tariffs on cars.

America charges a 2.5% tariffs on cars.

Fair?

Richard Grenell

[brownsfan]

Rand Paul seems to be a good man who is right on many things, and stands by what he believes. Paul might be right about the constitutionality of how the tariffs are enacted, but this is a moment for pragmatism. Trump is doing what needs to be done efficiently and effectively. Congress is dysfunctional.

I support President Trump on this.

[kenmcg]

What does the snake say about all the countries that rip us off?