Public Citizen Endorses Bill Ending Emergency Declaration on Brazil, Condemns House Republicans’ Cowardice
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On September 18, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the Senate to exercise congressional authority to end Donald Trump’s declaration of an emergency for tariffs against Brazil. Public Citizen supports the joint resolution that “terminates the national emergency declared to impose duties on articles imported from Brazil.” The bill’s introduction followed the re-introduction of a Senate bill to end Trump’s declaration of emergency against Canada, and the insertion of a rule change by House Republicans to a bill on DC criminal procedures that would allow them to avoid taking a vote on resolutions to end the tariff-related emergency declarations.
Melinda St. Louis, Global Trade Watch Director at Public Citizen, issued the following statement:
“Congress should unequivocally reject Trump’s fraudulent national emergency declaration targeting Brazil. Trump’s attempt to pressure Brazil on behalf of his fellow attempted-coup-orchestrator Jair Bolsonaro shows the extent to which he is willing to misuse his executive authority. If these illegal tariffs are allowed to continue, it will set a horrifying precedent that literally any domestic judicial action or democratically enacted policy set by another country that King Trump doesn’t like could somehow justify invocation of U.S. national emergency and bestow him with powers far beyond what the Constitution provides.
“Meanwhile, House Republicans are bending over backward to avoid taking a stand on Trump’s tariffs using procedural sleight of hand. We need Congress to uphold its duty to guarantee checks and balances against this president who is constantly overstepping his constitutional authorities. Instead, House Republicans are showing their cowardice by dismantling congressional tools to check Trump’s excessive use of emergency declarations.
“The tariffs on Brazil and Canada demonstrate the lie behind Trump’s rhetoric that his tariffs are meant to support U.S workers. If Trump cared about protecting workers, he’d pair strategic tariffs with domestic manufacturing investment, stop mega-corporations from price-gouging consumers, and encourage other countries to adopt trade policies that help workers and consumers. Instead he wields tariffs to advance his authoritarian power grab.”