02.20.26

Cantwell Statement on Supreme Court’s Ruling That Trump’s Tariffs Are Illegal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, released a video statement regarding today’s Supreme Court decision in the consolidated cases of Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump and Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, Inc. A transcript of Sen. Cantwell’s statement is below:

“Today's decision is so important because consumers all over our state and the country have been hurt. Small businesses, manufacturers, individual households have all had to pay higher prices on products that they can't afford. We need to really be concerned about America's competitiveness and thank God the court has given us some relief.”

Sen. Cantwell has remained a steadfast supporter of expanding export markets to grow the economy in the State of Washington and nationwide.

Despite Trump’s campaign promises, prices have only gone up under his watch. In September, Sen. Cantwell joined nearly 50 small business owners on the steps of the Supreme Court to push back against Trump’s reckless tariff policies. In April, Sen. Cantwell joined small business owners at the Port of Seattle to sound the alarm on how disastrous these policies are for Washington state businesses and consumers. According to economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, tariffs are already causing significant price hikes in durable goods like vehicles, electronics, and furniture. Also, this week, a new report that studied $4 trillion in trade found that American consumers paid nearly all of the cost of Trump’s tariffs last year – paying 96% of their cost, as opposed to just 4% paid by foreign exporters – which is consistent with other recent research about the economic impact on American consumers of the tariffs.

Immediately following President Trump’s April 2nd ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, Senators Cantwell and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the bipartisan Trade Review Act to reaffirm Congress’ key role in setting and approving U.S. trade policy. The Trade Review Act of 2025, modeled after the War Powers Resolution of 1973, would reestablish limits on the president’s ability to impose unilateral tariffs without the approval of Congress.

The Trade Review Act of 2025 has considerable bipartisan support, and a bipartisan companion bill to Cantwell’s legislation has also been introduced in the House of Representatives. In October, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business organization, endorsed Sen. Cantwell’s legislation and the National Taxpayers Union included the Trade Review Act in their Top 10 Bipartisan Bills for Taxpayers “No Brainer” list for 2025. View all statements of support, including from organizations that represent millions of small, medium, and large businesses, HERE.

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