Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) argued that under President Trump’s tariff plan, it appears that the United States is “in a trade war with ourselves.”
Dean joined NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” where she was asked by host Blake Burman about the administration’s argument that tariffs are meant to intentionally draw manufacturing jobs to the U.S.
Burman noted that there are several manufacturing plants in Dean’s state that will go idle this summer, meaning hundreds of jobs will be lost. As the Trump administration defends its tariff plan as a way to get jobs back to the U.S., some lawmakers are warning that jobs will just head elsewhere.
“I don’t know anybody who doesn’t want to bring manufacturing back to the United States,” she said. “That’s, in part, why we passed the massive CHIPS and Science Act. So, I applaud the notion that we want to bring manufacturing back, but you can’t do it this way.”
“This is absolutely reckless,” Dean continued, noting that businesses are hurting domestically and internationally.
She highlighted a recent trip she took to Europe, where she said they are “baffled” by Trump’s steep tariff agenda.
“This is not sensible policy. This is not going to drive manufacturing back here to the United States. It is a massive tax on Americans, and it so dissuades businesses from doing business with us,” Dean said.
“It seems like we’re in a trade war with ourselves.”
She noted that most people want manufacturing to happen in the U.S., but it will take years to bring it to the country. It has to be done through sensible policy implementation, she said.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) agrees with Dean. Last month, he argued that technology manufacturing will not head to the U.S. and instead go where there are lower tariff rates. Production could move away from China, which has a more than 100 percent tariff, but it would instead go to India, Malaysia or Vietnam.
The lawmakers’ concern comes as U.S. businesses are troubled by market fluctuations and warn customers of increased prices due to the tariffs.
