Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) speaks to the media outside the U.S. Capitol on August 31, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Finn Gomez | Getty Images
Top House Democrats on Wednesday accused President Donald Trump of using tariffs as a “vehicle of grievance and self-enrichment,” calling into question import tax exemptions for industries whose leaders have courted Trump’s favor with gifts and donations.
In an impassioned letter first obtained by CNBC, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told President Trump: “You have carefully cut away many sweet deals with companies and industries that earned tariff carve-outs, seeing as they would get something good in return.”
Raskin, a ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee and former top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, highlighted three tariff carve-outs, including on Brazilian meat, diamonds and smartphones, which he said “make little sense” under the standards set by the Trump administration.
“But they make sense in light of the now world-famous Trump tariff discounts,” Raskin wrote, coining the phrase to describe the president’s intention to cut breaks for allies and patrons “if the right price is set.”
The letter asks President Trump to turn over several categories of records from his second term, including communications between the White House and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative related to all forms of tariff relief for more than a dozen industries.
We have similar requirements for communications involving private sector representatives. apple Executive Chairman Tim Cook and Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour. Raskin asked for those records by Nov. 11.
Mr. Raskin’s aggressive letter directly accused Mr. Trump of “deep corruption” and argued that Mr. Trump’s use of aggressive tariffs was actually about seizing “levers of power that he could maliciously pull to extract attractive concessions for himself.”
The letter refers to the Judiciary Committee’s “jurisdiction over corruption, conflicts of interest, and the effective enforcement of criminal and civil law,” and could be a precursor to how Democrats will flex their oversight powers over Mr. Trump if they win a majority in the House or Senate in the midterm elections.
Raskin also drew a link between Trump’s alleged tariff abuses and Americans’ concerns about affordability, linking two of voters’ biggest concerns in the final stages of the election cycle.
Citing data from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, he wrote, “While you have protected private investors and alligator skin enthusiasts from a huge tariff hit, the American people are suffering. Independent analysts predict that your latest tariffs will cost American households an average of $820 this year.”
Voters are most concerned about government corruption, followed by rising food and gas prices, according to the latest CNBC National Economic Survey. Democratic candidates have deliberately tailored their campaign messages to link corruption to high costs.
The White House and USTR did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Raskin’s letter.
Mr. Raskin focused on the wide-ranging tariffs that the United States imposed in July using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
The Trump administration says these tariffs, which apply to more than 80 countries and cover nearly all imports from the United States, are aimed at cracking down on forced labor practices by foreign nationals. But other critics, including Mr. Raskin and plaintiffs in a major lawsuit challenging the tariffs, argue that the tariffs actually replace the broader “Emancipation Day” mandate that the Supreme Court struck down in February.
“There is no reason to question the sincerity of the government’s sudden concern for victims of forced labor,” Raskin wrote.
He pointed to President Trump’s decision last year to lift forced labor regulations against Dominican sugar company Central Romana, despite allegations of continued abuses at the company.
Central Romana owner Jose Francisco “Pepe” Fanjul reportedly hosted a $50 million fundraiser for Trump in 2024, and his family corporation donated $1 million to a pro-Trump PAC that same year. He is also listed as a donor to President Trump’s White House Ballroom Project.
The USTR provides exemptions from Section 301 duties only in certain cases, such as when additional duties would not help reduce forced labor practices. But the trade bureau’s list of exemptions “includes notable and questionable carve-outs for several industries,” Raskin wrote.
Raskin cited the beef and cattle products tariff exemption, which went into effect despite opposition from U.S. cattle producers, who strongly oppose the move, citing “the well-documented use of forced labor in Brazil’s cattle sector and the documented surge in Brazilian beef production.”
In late August, Trump reportedly met with Brazilian billionaire Joesley Batista, a co-founder of the company, in the Oval Office. J.B.S.the world’s largest meat processor. The next day, President Trump announced that the United States would allow imports of up to 300,000 tons of “ground meat products” below market value.
“Coincidentally, JBS’s U.S. subsidiary, Pilgrim’s Pride, has contributed $5 million to the 2024 Establishment Fund, the largest contribution by a single company,” Raskin wrote.
Diamond jewelry is also exempt from Section 301 tariffs, but Raskin called it “laughably indefensible” because jewelry is classified by the U.S. Department of Labor as a commodity produced using forced or child labor.
Raskin suggested the exemption was the result of Belgium’s Antwerp World Diamond Center gifting Trump in June with a gorgeous gold ring set with 321 natural diamonds and 75 other gemstones. A company press release about the ring said it was presented to President Trump as a symbol of “Antwerp’s historic trade relationship with the United States” and in commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary.
“Diamonds are truly the president’s best friend!” Raskin quipped in his letter.
He also wrote that the USTR exempted Chinese-made smartphones from Section 301 tariffs, even though “abusive working conditions are a feature of smartphone manufacturing, including Apple’s iPhone.”
He cited multiple examples of Cook courting Trump, including reportedly donating $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee and presenting Trump with a gold shield in the Oval Office. Raskin also noted that Apple donated $25 million to President Trump’s White House Ballroom project, making it the largest donation ever made in Thailand.
“The above exemptions only scratch the surface of your deep corruption,” Raskin wrote.
