Senators challenge Greer over $1,700 average family cost
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told senators Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s tariffs have not increased prices for American families, as Democrats pointed to data showing higher costs and challenged the administration’s position on inflation.
During a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) asked Greer directly whether the tariffs had raised prices for families. Greer replied: “No.”
Greer cited core inflation, which he said “fell to 2.6% year on year, much better than in January 2025.” Core inflation excludes food and energy. Overall inflation is slightly higher than when President Joe Biden left office.
Warren cited an estimate produced by Democrats based on the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and Treasury Department figures showing families were paying an average of $1,700 more in tariff costs since Trump returned to office.
The exchange took place at a critical juncture for Trump’s tariff policy. The Supreme Court struck down the president’s global tariff authority in February, prompting the administration to impose a 10% tariff on much of the world under alternative legal authority. That 10% tariff is set to expire Friday, and Trump officials, including Greer, have indicated they will replace it with new duties on imports.
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) told Greer that Trump had “made life more expensive for everybody” before the U.S.-Israel war on Iran sent “energy prices through the roof.”
“Despite this mountain of evidence, you and the president still seem to be in denial that tariffs have raised prices,” Warnock told Greer, calling it “a fact that study after study confirms, and is just basic common sense — everybody sees it, we’re feeling it.”
Warnock asked whether Greer had “ever produced any rigorous peer-evaluated study refuting the fact that the tariffs have contributed to inflation, or is your rebuttal to these conclusion just based on vibes, people’s feelings, politics?”
Greer replied: “Well, no, we don’t do vibes, senator.”
Greer began discussing inflation and the price of eggs before Warnock interrupted to keep him on topic. When Greer continued talking about the price of eggs, butter and smartphones, Warnock interjected: “That’s not my question.”
“The point is that tariffs contributed to inflation,” Warnock said. “Prices are higher than when the president came into office, and tariffs made it worse.”
The hearing underscored the fiscal and political terrain ahead of the expiration of the current tariff policy. U.S. inflation surged to a three-year high earlier this year, and the administration’s trade strategy faces legal headwinds and bipartisan scrutiny over its economic effects.