Senator Reed slams Trump’s “reckless and chaotic economic policies”

By Steve Klamkin Latino Public Radio

Senator Jack Reed on Wednesday condemned President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, calling them part of a “reckless and chaotic economic policies that are raising prices and fueling inflation.”

In a news conference in his Cranston office, the Democratic U.S. Senator said “The Wall Street Journal reported this week that 96% of the cost (of tariffs) is passed through to American buyers and consumers.

“Yale researchers estimated Trump’s tariffs cost American households about $1,700 last year,” Reed said.

“American families want lower tariffs and lower prices, not Greenland,” he said.

Trump has pressed to acquire Greenland, the Danish-owned island in the Atlantic Ocean as an added security protection for the United States, rallying European allies who foresee the move as a threat to the NATO alliance. On Wednesday, Trump told leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that he would no longer threaten to boost tariffs against goods from European nations that oppose his efforts to gain control over Greenland.

“This has struck a chord with not just the leaders of Europe, but the people of Europe. They’ve been insulted, they’ve been demeaned,” Reed said.

“It’s terrible foreign policy, terrible economic policy,” Reed said.

The Supreme Court is currently considering the constitutionality of most of Trump’s tariffs.

“I am hopeful that the Justices will not simply find the President’s actions unconstitutional, but will also require the President return an estimated $150 billion he has taken from Americans.”