Rand Paul gives a harsh speech against Trump's tariffs: 'They do not punish foreign governments, but our families'

At an event the White House dubbed "Liberation Day," Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs against several countries. Some of the most significant were those imposed on China (34%), India (26%), the European Union (20%) and Japan (24%). Hours after the event, Rand Paul (R-KY) gave a vehement speech against the president's initiative.

Although Paul recently strongly endorsed the president's work, remarking on his "courage" and "tenacity," he had no problem criticizing the current trade course.

The senator from Kentucky, who has always favored the free market, was very critical of the White House's tariff policy. Before voting in favor of eliminating tariffs for Canada, which had the support of all his Democratic colleagues and three other Republicans, he clarified his dissatisfaction with the tariffs, especially with how they were implemented.

Paul's speech against Trump's tariffs

Paul began with a historical tour of taxes and went all the way back to the 16th century English Bill of Rights, which "embodied no taxation without the consent of Parliament."

"And yet we are here before the Senate today because one person in our country wants to raise taxes. This is contrary to everything our country was founded on. A person cannot raise taxes. The Constitution forbids it," he continued, referring to the National Constitution.

Indeed, Article I, Section 8 states that "Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties…To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations." However, in recent decades, the power to set tariffs has been selectively delegated to the Executive Branch.

In this case, the Kentucky senator remarked that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), enacted by President Jimmy Carter in 1977, is being used. "It has never been used for tariff before, and doesn't mention the word tariff. So this isn't something that was targeted in times of need, the president can have the power to put on tariff, never says that. This will be an extraordinary," he continued.

"We conservatives used to uniformly oppose raising taxes"

Next, the senator attacked tariffs in general, noting that conservatives had opposed them for years, understanding that they hurt local consumers.

"Let's be very clear, tariffs are simply taxes. Tariffs don't punish foreign governments, they punish American families. When we tax imports, we raise the price of everything, from groceries, to smartphones, to washing machines, to prescription drugs. Every dollar collected in tariff revenue comes straight out of the pockets of American consumers," he said.

"Conservatives used to understand that tariffs are taxes on the American people. Conservatives used to be uniformly opposed to raising taxes because we wanted the private marketplace, the private individuals, to keep more of their income so we were always for lower taxes. And yet now the mantra that's coming is we want higher taxes. What happened?" he stated.

The speech lasted about 30 minutes and was delivered before the Senate voted in favor of a resolution to undo President Trump's 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports. It garnered 51 votes in favor and 48 against, with all Democrats and four Republicans in the majority.

In addition to Paul, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) and Susan Collins (R-ME) supported the resolution. The senator later appeared on Fox News alongside Tim Kaine (D-VA) to criticize the tariffs imposed by the president.