Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Urging Big Corporations To Pass Tariff Refunds To Consumers & Small Businesses

Washington, D.C. - Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke on the Senate floor calling for the US Chamber of Commerce to tell its member companies to pass tariff refunds to their consumers, who bore the brunt of the tariffs. Below are Senator Schumer's remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Yesterday, a federal judge sent the Trump administration a very clear message: refund the tariffs. In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling invalidating a large portion of the President's tariffs, the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York said yesterday that importers are entitled to refunds. But let's be very clear, the people who deserve a refund from Donald Trump's trade war are American households and small businesses, not large corporations. When the tariffs hit, large companies often pass the buck over to their customers. They're the ones who are owed a refund.

So today, with Senator Wyden, I'm calling on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to tell their members to pass savings of any tariff refunds to American consumers. If any refunds happen, large companies should not keep them but rather pass them back to consumers. It's simple fairness that the financial burden borne by small businesses and working people should not become a windfall for large corporations' balance sheets.

American consumers and small business didn't choose this trade war and therefore should not have to pay for this trade war. They are owed a refund. They need to be made whole. I am glad that some companies have already announced that they will pass any refunds over to customers, and I urge the Chamber of Commerce to push more of their members to do the same.

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