Cortez Masto, Democratic Senators Demand Transparency and Accountability for Use of National Security Tariffs to Tax Cars, Cabinets, Other Common Products

Washington, D.C. –Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and eight of her Democratic Senate colleagues in a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick calling out the Trump administration’s unprecedented use of national security tariffs to pursue sweeping taxes on cars, appliances, and hundreds of other products.
In their letter, the Senators noted the limited nature of Section 232 of theTrade Expansion Act,whichhad been rarely used in the 20 years before Donald Trump became president. However, this year alone, the Trump administration has opened 12 new investigations and expanded others, spanning hundreds of products used by Americans every day.The massive scope of the Section 232 investigations and the lack of transparency in the Commerce Department’s process undermine the integrity of a law that is intended to address true national security threats to the United States.
“Trump’s tariffs are putting U.S. jobs, economic competitiveness, and credibility at risk by driving up costs for American businesses and consumers, creating significant uncertainty and confusion for importers, and alienating our allies,”the Senators wrote.“The reliance on Section 232 to pursue tariffs on everything from cars to household appliances and kitchen cabinets stretches the limited authority delegated by Congress.”
The Senators also called out the lack of public consultation, as well as the failure to publish the required reports to justify the tariffs.
“Further, the Commerce Department has run an opaque, unaccountable process, making decisions behind closed doors, with no justification and with limited opportunity for the American public to weigh in on the tariffs they will have to pay,”the Senators continued.
Read the full letterhere.Additional signatories include Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
Senator Cortez Masto hascontinuedtopushthe Trump Administration to address the impacts of Trump’s tariffs on working families andNevada small businesses. During a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Cortez MastopressedUSTR Greer about the impacts of President Trump’s blanket tariffs on Nevadans, particularly those employed in the tourism and hospitality industry. Earlier this year, the Senatorcalled onthe Trump Administration to take strategic tariff action to protect, invest in, and strengthen America’s critical mineral supply chain. The Senator introduced theTariff Transparency Actto require the U.S. International Trade Commission to publicly investigate how Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada would impact the American people.
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