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Democrats haven’t always been the anti-tariff party, with some of the party’s leaders previously calling for reciprocal tariffs — especially against China for “unfair trade policies.”
The Democrats’ pro-tariff past has been highlighted in viral social media posts of decades-old C-SPAN video clips in which party leaders demand action against countries that impose tariffs on U.S. goods.
Those pushing for tariffs in the 1990s and 2000s included former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York and Sen. Bernard Sanders, the democratic socialist from Vermont.
All three have strenuously opposed President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which he paused on Wednesday just as they were taking effect. The pause is supposed to last for 90 days.
“The Chinese have enjoyed a huge trade surplus with the U.S. Every year, it gets larger and larger. Much of that trade surplus is because the Chinese don’t play fair,” Mr. Schumer said, calling for steeper tariffs on Chinese goods.
Ms. Pelosi in 1996 described the U.S.-China trade relationship as a “job loser” and demanded retaliatory tariffs.
Mr. Sanders in 2008, while running for president, bemoaned the lack of high tariffs in the U.S.
Congressional Democrats on Wednesday brushed off their party’s leaders’ previously wholehearted support of tariffs to rebalance global trade.
“I am less interested in C-SPAN videos from the early ‘90s when I was seven years old,” Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse of Colorado said during a press conference Wednesday. “I think from my perspective, my constituents aren’t particularly focused on what Chuck Schumer was saying in 1991.”
He added, “The president’s policies are erratic and nonsensical.”
Rep. Scott Peters, California Democrat, said it is Mr. Trump who is changing positions on trade, not Democrats. He cited Mr. Trump’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership with Asia during his first term, which President Obama proposed in 2015.
“That was dealt with in USMCA, President Trump’s agreement, which was supported by Democrats and Republicans alike,” Mr. Peters said. “You want to ask who’s done a 180, it’s President Trump.”
The Washington Times reached out to Mrs. Pelosi, Mr. Schumer and Mr. Sanders for comment.
In 2005, Mr. Schumer railed about how the U.S. suffers from China’s “unfair trade policies.”
“They don’t let our goods into their country. I can tell you company after company in New York who cannot sell goods in China or can only sell them under impossible conditions,” Mr. Schumer continued, “The Chinese make no effort to prevent the ripping off of our intellectual property. These are our crown jewels. The thinking. The great creativity. The great entrepreneurial-ness of the American business community is just taken, and they shrug their shoulders.”
Saying the Chinese “pile on” unfair rules that violate free trade, Mr. Schumer called on his colleagues to support legislation to impose a 27.5% tariff on Chinese goods.
Presently, Mr. Schumer said Mr. Trump’s tariff plan had gone “overboard.”
Mr. Trump, while pausing other reciprocal tariffs, raised the tariffs on China to 125%
A June 1996 clip of Mrs. Pelosi shows her on the floor of the House asking Congress to retaliate against China’s tariffs. She calls on lawmakers to fight against the “status quo” trade policies that added to America’s trade deficit with China.
She said lawmakers must understand that American tariffs on Chinese goods were almost nothing compared to the duties Beijing levies on U.S. goods.
“In terms of tariffs, it’s interesting to note that the average U.S. [Most Favored Nation] tariff on Chinese goods coming into the United States is 2%, whereas the average MFN tariff on U.S. goods going into China is 35%,” she said. “Is that reciprocal?”
Last week, however, she said on social media: “Donald Trump’s reckless tariffs will cause chaos in our economy, raise prices for consumers and hurt hardworking American families. This is not a strategy — it’s the largest tax hike on the American people in history.”
In a 2008 clip, Mr. Sanders condemned the federal government for not implementing tariffs and other protectionist policies to prevent U.S. jobs from leaving the country.
“Further, what they have said is that we need to not worry about manufacturing in America because what we should establish is a policy of unfettered free trade. We don’t need tariffs,” he said in a sarcastic tone while delivering a speech in the Senate.
He continued derisively, “What we need is to allow corporate America the freedom — the freedom — to throw American workers out on the street, people who are making $15, $20, $25 an hour, health care pensions — throw them out on the street — because somehow, Madame President, we are going to create wealth in America and good paying jobs in America as we shut down plants, we move to China.”
Mr. Sanders, however, said on social media last month, “Not surprisingly, Trump’s overall tax and tariff proposals would make the very rich much richer and working families poorer. If you earn less than $360,000 a year, your taxes are going to go way up. If you’re in the top 1%? Don’t worry. You’ll save big.”
When asked about his change of position, he told Fox News in a statement, “I understand that we need trade policies that benefit American workers, not just the CEOs of large corporations. And that includes targeted tariffs, which can be a powerful tool in stopping corporations from outsourcing American jobs and factories abroad.
“Bottom line: We need a rational, well-thought-out and fair trade policy. Trump’s across-the-board tariffs are not the way to do it. We do not need a blanket and arbitrary sales tax on imported goods which will raise prices on products that the American people desperately need. We should be doing everything we can to lower prices, not make them incredibly higher.”
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