Chuck Schumer Blasts Trump’s EU Deal: ‘It’s Fake!’

Schumer: “Now, on the trade deal. Over the weekend, Donald Trump announced a new trade ‘deal’ with the European Union. It will result in a $90 billion per year tax hike on American families. When you raise tariffs, the American families pay for it. $90 billion tax on American families in this tariff deal with the European Union. Donald Trump is, as usual, trying to hype up, exaggerate, and lie about his — Donald Trump always lies — almost always lies about his accomplishments, and this is no exception. And in Trump’s frenzy to divert attention away from the Epstein scandal, Trump is once again totally making things up. And what did the American consumer get out of this Trump tax hike? A 15 percent increase on everyday goods. This deal is a 15 percent Trump tax on American consumers, plain and simple.

Trump would have you believe it’s ‘the biggest deal ever’ — that’s his words — dangling $250 billion of new energy purchases and more in new investments. There’s just one hiccup – it’s fake! Even today’s Wall Street Journal has pierced this miasma of distortion. Even if the EU purchased every dollar of American exports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, it wouldn’t come close to meeting these promises, something Europe understands. Europe has admitted that this ‘agreement’ isn’t legally binding, and they have no control over whether these investments even happen. If this sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve already seen this show before. In the major agreement with Japan that Trump announced with Japan last week, where he claimed Japan had promised $550 billion in new investment.

But now we know the real amount is only as much as 2 percent of the promised amount. Again, he just fakes it, makes it up. I know, he’s in a frenzy about the Epstein scandal, but that doesn’t give you the excuse to just make things up. And that’s what happens. A day later, after the dust settles, it is clear, so much of what he has said about these tariff deals — whether it is Japan or Europe — are just not true. And in the meantime, American consumers now pay higher tariffs on goods from Japan and Europe. Donald Trump wants people to breathe a sigh of relief that his tariff isn’t 30 percent, but now is only 15 percent. But the American people aren’t going to be fooled when their prices go up. Donald Trump was so desperate, so desperate to get a trade deal done — after falling short of his promise of 90 deals in 90 days — that’s another hyped up claim — that he sold out American families just to try and claim a win.

It’s not a win. Not for him, and not for the American people. It means more money out of people’s pockets for everyday items like groceries, medicine, electronics, cars, and more. When you go to the grocery store, it could be 15 percent more expensive. When you buy a car, it will be 15 percent more expensive. And it also means a tighter strain for small businesses across America, who are already struggling to keep their doors open due to high costs. Donald Trump can claim all he wants that this is the biggest deal ever made, but American families and small businesses, the ones footing the bill, know much better. This new deal with the EU is nothing more than a massive tax hike for families and small businesses, signed in desperation, paid for by the American people. I yield the floor.”