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WASHINGTON, 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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“(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.”
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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?
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“It really is an extraordinary moment when you have progressive Democrats quoting Milton Friedman … and having to defend free markets and free trade,” said Andrew Hale, a fellow at Advancing American Freedom, referring to a March lawsuit filed by 24 states, led by Democratic attorneys general, challenging Trump’s 10 per cent global tariffs imposed under Section 122. The filing cited Friedman’s criticism of protectionism.
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“I feel I have woken up in the Democrat Party of Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. If you look at the Democrat Party platforms of 1980, ’84, ’88, they’re identical to the policies of J.D. Vance,” he added.
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That comparison may be overstated, but the political realignment he describes is visible in the Democrats’ current messaging. Ahead of November’s vote, the party is increasingly tying Trump’s tariffs to higher prices and the broader affordability crisis.