Republicans scramble to shield their states from Trump's next wave of tariffs

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Source: Politico

Republicans scramble to shield their states from Trump’s next wave of tariffs

Some GOP lawmakers are already planning to push for exemptions for key industries back home.

By Meredith Lee Hill
03/31/2025 04:45 AM EDT

Swaths of Republicans on Capitol Hill are scrambling to shield their states from Donald Trump’s next wave of tariffs, a sign of the private alarm in the president’s party about the impacts of his trade agenda.

Trump has promised his rollout of global tariffs on April 2 will amount to a “Liberation Day” for the American economy. But dozens of GOP lawmakers worry privately that another round of tariffs will raise prices on U.S. consumers, cripple American farmers and rattle the stock market.

In anticipation, they are coordinating with various industry groups to push the administration for exemptions that protect key local industries from that kind of pain. They’re also trying to effectively void some of the tariffs on key products once they go into effect, lining up to push Trump officials for so-called exclusions.

Their quiet maneuvering signals the heightened anxiety among Republicans about the next phase of his trade wars — and the political pitfalls ahead for the president and his party. Four Republicans with direct knowledge of the strategy, granted anonymity to discuss the private conversations, described the behind-the-scenes planning as concerted and targeted.

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Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/31/republican-tariffs-trump-states-exemptions-00259301