Mackenzie has voted four times to keep tariffs in place while prices for Lehigh Valley businesses and families continue to skyrocket

PENNSYLVANIA – During a recent town hall event, Rep. Ryan Mackenzie acknowledged that tariffs have been “very disruptive to a lot of businesses.” However, he has voted three times to prevent Congress from being able to challenge President Trump’s sweeping global tariff policies and voted to protect tariffs on Brazil.

Due to Trump’s tariffs, which Rep. Mackenzie supported, grocery prices have skyrocketed, Mack Trucks laid off hundreds of workers at its Lehigh Valley Operations center, and some local companies are considering moving their manufacturing overseas. One local business, IPVM based in Bethlehem Township, was sanctioned by China in retaliation for tariffs. New tariffs were announced Friday morning that would impact heavy trucks, furniture, and even impose a tariff of up to 100 percent on pharmaceutical drugs.

“Actions speak louder than words, and Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s actions tell us everything we need to know. Despite acknowledging tariffs have been ‘very disruptive’ to his own community, he voted four times to support these harmful tariffs that are raising costs and causing chaos for working families in the Lehigh Valley,” said Rachele Fortier, executive director of Affordable Pennsylvania. “No one should not have to worry if they will be able to put food on the table or lose their business or job because of these tariffs. We are calling on Rep. Mackenzie to stand up for his constituents and stop supporting these reckless and damaging tariffs.”

ICYMI: Morning Call: Ryan Mackenzie held an in-person, televised town hall. From tariffs, Epstein files and Donald Trump, here are the key takeaways

• Mackenzie acknowledged that tariffs — which Trump has on several occasions announced, then walked back or adjusted with little warning — have been “very disruptive to a lot of businesses.”

ICYMI: Lehigh Valley News: Tariffs, opioids and dirty diapers: U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie legislative roundup

• Don’t expect Congress to delve into the matter anytime soon. Mackenzie joined nearly all other Republicans in passing a rule that prevents the U.S. House from ending the state of emergency until March 31, 2026.

• He and most Republicans previously voted in April to block tariff debate until Sept. 30.

• Mackenzie previously voiced an openness to revisit the president’s emergency powers and tariffs.

• "If we want to be the ones that are setting a budget and tax rates and revenue generation, if that’s what it’s about, then maybe that’s something that Congress should have. I think it's a very worthy discussion, and I could envision a spot where it's somewhere in between," he said in an April interview.

• In an email Monday, Mackenzie said he still stands by those words but added that now is not the time for that talk.