Democrats flirt with becoming the anti-tariff party amid Trump's trade war
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on June 01, 2026 in Washington, DC. Photo by Anna Moneymaker /Getty ImagesArticle contentWASHINGTON, D.C. — Since the 1970s, U.S. Democrats have been more closely associated with labour protection, while Republicans have been aligned with free trade. Under President Donald Trump, however, the GOP has been embracing its pro-tariff era.
In recent weeks, the opposition has been showing increasing signs of moving toward freer trade. Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer recently introduced the End Trump’s Tariff Tax Act to revoke and refund Trump’s latest global and Canadian tariffs.
The bill covers the balance-of-payments tariffs, the roughly 10 per cent duties imposed after courts rejected the administration’s use of IEEPA to impose broad tariffs; the specified Section 301 tariffs targeting goods from 60 countries over alleged forced-labour practices; and the Section 338 tariffs imposed under the administration’s claim that Canada discriminated against U.S. exporters.
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Schumer’s bill is already attracting broad Democratic support, including Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden (Oregon), business-friendly Virginia Democrats Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, whose swing state of Michigan is on the frontline of the Canadian tariff and affordability fights heading into the midterm elections.
Five Democratic senators, including Slotkin, Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Chris Coons (Delaware), Patty Murray (Washington), and Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), recently warned that the Canada duties would raise costs for families, businesses and farmers.
“(Trump’s) tariffs will squeeze our states’ small businesses and farmers harder and drive costs up for working families,” they wrote. “They will raise the cost of the lumber, plywood, and construction equipment we need to build new housing. They will hurt our workers and businesses who manufacture autos, aircraft, and machinery. They will drive up the prices consumers pay for everyday basics like milk, clothing, and paper products.”
Democrats are increasingly framing Trump’s tariffs as a tax on families amid the affordability crisis. But does that amount to a historic shift for America’s labour party — or simply an effective way to attack an unpopular president ahead of November’s midterms?
