Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Calling On Businesses To Display True Price Of Trump Tariff Tax To Consumers

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor calling on national retailers to show the true cost of Donald Trump’s tariffs and highlighting the uncertainty and volatility they bring to American families and businesses. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

According to the AP-NORC poll, half of Americans are worried about a recession and expect inflation to keep going up. And these aren't just poll numbers. When I talk to New Yorkers, when I hear from Americans, that's exactly where they're at.

Consumer sentiment is at a decades-long low. It has plunged by 30%.

So, the consumers are holding back. They're not spending. They're not planning that trip to see the grandkids. They're not thinking of buying a new car or new furniture because they're worried.

And then businesses, seeing that, hearing that, they hold back. I've heard from business after business, large and small, that everything is on freeze, that everything is hold. You know what that does? That leads to a recession.

In fact, Amazon announced that they will begin displaying how much tariffs contribute to the total price of products to consumers.

I urge more companies, particularly national retailers that compete with Amazon, to adopt this practice. If Amazon has the courage to display why prices are going up because of tariffs, so should all of our other national retailers who compete with them. And I am calling on them to do it now.

To the large businesses that sell to consumers, I say: show your customers how much tariffs are hurting in their pocketbooks. People deserve to know the impact tariffs have on their finances. And certainly, when people hear it, they'll let their Congressmembers and Senators know. And then businesses will have a chance to get rid of these tariffs, which are so stultifying their ability to move forward.

And it’s also small businesses: they don’t want to get blamed for hiking prices when Donald Trump’s tariffs have put them in a terrible position – in a position that says, raise your prices of close your doors. They hate doing either.

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