Democrats would end Trump’s tariffs. They haven’t said how.
U.S. House Democrats say they would undo President Donald Trump’s tariffs. They have not said what would replace the revenue, and they have not addressed the Section 301 tariffs now hitting 60 trading partners.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog, estimates repealing the remaining tariffs would cost the federal government about $85.5 billion a year in lost revenue, or $245 per person.
Asked on ABC’s “This Week” on Sept. 13 what Democrats would do on day one about the cost of living, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said, “We have to end the Trump tariffs, because we know the Trump tariffs have increased costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year.”
Democrats have introduced bills aimed at the authorities Trump has used, but they have not identified legislation addressing the Section 301 tariffs, which the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative describes as covering 60 economies.
“Discussions on how to address the administration’s clear abuses of 301 authority are ongoing,” said Nick Martin, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and sits on the Ways and Means trade subcommittee.
The bills Democrats have written target the other authorities. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., introduced a measure in March 2025, before most of the tariffs took effect, requiring Congress to vote on presidential tariff actions under Section 232, the authority Trump used on autos and metals.
Rep. Linda Sánchez, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the Ways and Means trade subcommittee, introduced a bill a month later terminating executive orders the Supreme Court would later void. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., introduced a bipartisan measure in April 2026 with Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., targeting a Section 122 tariff that expired in July 2026. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., introduced a bill in August 2026 to repeal Section 338 and refund duties collected under it.
Net customs duties totaled $173.2 billion in fiscal 2026, down from $194.9 billion the year before, according to the Treasury Department’s monthly statement. The government collected $317.8 billion and returned $144.6 billion to importers after the Supreme Court struck down the earlier tariffs in February 2026.
Asked what would replace the revenue, Martin did not name a source.
“Much of the increased customs revenue is a result of President Trump’s tariff abuses and was not revenue the Treasury was entitled to without proper congressional authority,” he told The Center Square.
The Congressional Budget Office has not published an estimate of what repealing the tariffs would cost, said Caitlin Emma, the agency’s chief of media relations.
Bacon, who introduced the bill with Panetta, did not answer questions Monday by deadline due to district events, his office said.
In an April statement announcing the measure, he said the Constitution “gives Congress authority over tariffs and trade, and it’s time Congress stands on its own two feet and does its job.” He said the bill was “a step toward restoring Congress’s role” and that across-the-board tariffs “raise costs for families and create unnecessary economic uncertainty.”
The offices of Sánchez and Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, did not respond to questions.
Jeffries has said the tariffs cost Americans thousands of dollars a year. Outside estimates are lower. The Tax Foundation puts the average household burden at about $820 this year, and the Budget Lab at Yale at about $1,100 in an Aug. 24 report. Both are modeled estimates of what households pay, not measures of federal revenue.
Congress returns Nov. 9. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Sunny
