MONTEREY >> All 18 Democrat members of the House Ways and Means Committee, including Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, signed onto a letter demanding the Trump administration retract its order for across-the-board tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico before they go into effect.

The Trump administration’s proposed tariffs are expected to cost the average American household over $1,200 per year and limit economic growth, say authors of the letter. The members argue that President Donald Trump has drastically abused the limited grant of trade powers by Congress to the executive branch conferred by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, did not properly consult with Congress and may have violated the Constitution in its brazen executive overreach.

The extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, says the White House. Until the crisis is alleviated, Trump is implementing a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% tariff.”

The tariffs were imposed Feb. 1, but were soon after postponed for a month.

All 25 Republican members on the Ways and Means Committee did not sign the letter.

Panetta’s office said that while it cannot speak to the individual Republican members’ reasoning, it does show a tacit approval of the administration’s trade policies.

“As a co-equal branch of government, it is critical that Congress serves as a check on executive overreach and conducts oversight of its actions,” says Panetta’s office. “This letter is part of that effort.”

The letter from the Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee sets the stage for future action to check the Executive Branch through Congressional oversight, the courts and legislation.

“(The) use of tariffs as a bargaining chip to settle non-trade issues is counterproductive to the goal of revitalizing manufacturing and bringing back American jobs,” wrote the members. “The wellbeing of American workers, families, and businesses should never be gambled for the sake of scoring political points. We strongly urge you to retract your order for these damaging tariffs on our North American partners and recommit to strengthen, rather than upend, our shared efforts to secure supply chains and bring good paying jobs back to our communities from China.”

Canada and Mexico are the United States’ first and second largest export markets with goods exports of $680 billion in 2023, and the U.S. is the largest export market for Canada and Mexico. Exports among the U.S., Mexico, and Canada support over 17 million jobs.

According to the Brookings Institution, a non-partisan centrist think tank, the trading relationship among the U.S., Canada and Mexico is underpinned by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a new trade agreement that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement and was negotiated and finalized during the first Trump administration. Yet, on Feb. 1, Trump imposed 25% tariffs (which were subsequently delayed by one month) on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on energy imports from Canada to address flows of fentanyl and illegal migration.

Brookings concluded that the U.S. tariff of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico will reduce U.S. economic growth, reduce jobs, cause wages to fall and prices to rise, and retaliation by Canada and Mexico will multiply the economic harms across the three countries.

Trump has said that these tariffs are in response to flows of fentanyl and illegal immigrants from Mexico and Canada. According to the Brookings Institution, the problem with these tariffs is that they impose immediate costs on U.S. consumers, workers and businesses without a clear link between these tariffs and how they will reduce flows of immigrants or fentanyl.

These tariffs will harm the Trump administration’s goal of developing more secure supply chains and competing with China, says Brookings. More broadly, because these tariffs are most likely inconsistent with USMCA, countries will start to hedge — creating new options for trade and investment to insure against an unreliable U.S., which will include being more open to expanding trade and investment relations with China.

Unless the Trump administration resolves its issues with Canada and Mexico and unwinds these tariffs quickly, the economic, diplomatic and strategic harms from the tariffs will be substantial, says the Brookings Institution.

Panetta, Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Linda Sánchez, D-Whittier, and Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Washington, led the letter with their colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Additional signers of the letter include; House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), John Larson (D-Conn.), Dany Davis (D-Ill.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.), Brendan Boyle (D-Penn.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), Dwight Evans (D-Penn.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), Steven Horsford (D-Nevada), Stacey Plaskett (Virgin Islands) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY).