{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-questions-trade-rep-on-tariffs-and-trade-war-chaos-people-just-dont-know-what-to-count-on-its-hurting-us-badly/", "Welch\u00a0Questions\u00a0Trade Rep\u00a0on Tariffs and Trade War Chaos: \u201cPeople just\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know what to count on.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0hurting us badly.\u201d", "2026-07-22", "2026", "2026-07", "Democrat", "Senate", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "www.welch.senate.gov", "welch", "https://www.welch.senate.gov/category/press-release/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Member of the Senate Finance Committee, today questioned U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer on the Trump Administration\u2019s reckless trade war and tariff policies, which have arbitrarily hurt Vermont small businesses, farmers, and families.\n\nIn the hearing, Senator Welch pushed Ambassador Greer for answers about President Trump\u2019s new 50% tariff levied on many products from Canada\u2014Vermont\u2019s closest partner in trade. Senator Welch also shared stories of how the president\u2019s economic policies and tariffs have hurt the success of Vermont businesses. Senator Welch raised the alarm about how the tariffs have created an access economy, where only those connected to the White House can get relief.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re just getting hit with these tariffs, and it looks like\u2014to some extent\u2014if you have access to the administration, you may get an end-around and avoid them, which is really troubling to us in Vermont. We are having trouble getting the refunds\u2026Just going through that has been really tough for us,\u201d said Senator Welch. \u201cI just want you to understand how tough this has been in Vermont. We really value our relationship with Canada, both emotionally, financially, and economically. The way the tariffs have changed constantly\u2014just recently, just two days ago, the president announced new tariffs may go into effect\u2014people just don\u2019t know what to count on. It\u2019s hurting us badly.\u201d\n\nWatch Senator Welch\u2019s full remarks from the hearing below:\n\nSenator Welch is the lead sponsor of the Creating Access to Necessary American-Canadian Duty Adjustments (CANADA) Act, legislation that would exempt United States-owned small businesses from tariffs imposed on Canada. Senator Welch also cosponsors the bipartisan Trade Review Act, which seeks to restore Congress\u2019 constitutional role in trade policy.\n\nSenator Welch voted against Amb. Greer\u2019s nomination to serve as U.S. Trade Representative. During Greer\u2019s nomination hearing in February 2025, Senator Welch pressed him for answers about the impact of Trump\u2019s trade war on American businesses and consumers, and outlined the cost of Trump\u2019s new proposed tariffs for Vermont industries, farmers, and families. Senator Welch has continued to demand answers from Greer on how Trump\u2019s economic policies have created global economic chaos and harmed Americans, including leading 18 colleagues in pressing for information on how the Trump Administration\u2019s tariffs will harm farmers across the nation.\n\nEarlier this month, Senator Welch urged Greer, the White House, and Canadian trade officials to come to a swift resolution on unresolved matters and to maintain the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was negotiated and signed by President Trump in his first term.\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-23T07:31:02Z", "2026-07-23T07:32:26Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-questions-trade-rep-on-tariffs-and-trade-war-chaos-people-just-dont-know-what-to-count-on-its-hurting-us-badly/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6996641643345356, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}