Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), members of the Senate Finance Committee, hosted a “Spotlight Forum” to analyze the economic impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Titled “Costs, Chaos, Corruption: The Household Impact of Trump’s Tariffs,” the forum focused on how these policies affected working families, the travel and tourism sector, and general economic stability.
“Across New Mexico and the country, Americans are feeling pain from President Trump’s tariffs,” Luján said. “Costs, Chaos, Corruption – those aren’t just buzzwords. They’re the reality for hardworking families in New Mexico and across America. President Trump’s tariffs are expected to cost American households $2,600 a year, a price that’s far too expensive for many Americans to afford. That’s why I partnered with Senator Cortez Masto to show the American people that President Trump’s tariffs are a tax on working families, a gut punch to small businesses, and a green light for corruption.”
The forum featured testimony from various experts and business owners.
Adam Posen, President of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, described tariffs as “one of the worst ways to impose a tax” and noted their potential for government corruption and international retaliation.
“This is one of the worst ways to impose a tax and one of the most regressive ways to redistribute income from poorer to richer Americans and increase the tax burden on poorer people,” Posen said. “In addition, because they cause uncertainty, provoke retaliation by other nations, and create opportunities for government corruption, tariffs have many destructive side effects that other forms of taxes do not.”
Thea Lee, an economist and former Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs, warned of “all pain and no gain” from the tariffs, citing short-term uncertainty and long-term damage to trade relationships.
“President Trump’s tariffs and the haphazard manner in which he’s deploying them are causing real damage to real Americans,” Cortez Masto said. “It’s now more important than ever that we give a microphone to those most impacted by Trump’s shortsighted economic policies. Senate Democrats will never stop fighting for working families.”
