Raskin demands Trump's tariff donor records, calls tariffs a 'tool for grift'

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., accused President Donald Trump on Wednesday of using tariffs as a "tool for grift and self-enrichment." Raskin is the ranking member, meaning the top Democrat, on the House Judiciary Committee. His letter points to import-tax exemptions for industries whose leaders have courted Trump with gifts and donations ¹.

The letter, first obtained by CNBC, names three exemptions: Brazilian meat, diamonds and smartphones. Raskin says they "make little to no sense" under the criteria the Trump administration set ¹.

What Raskin is asking for

Raskin wants records covering Trump's second term. They include communications between the White House and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, or USTR, about tariff relief for more than a dozen industries. He also wants communications involving private-sector figures, including Apple executive chairman Tim Cook and Rolex CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour. He set a Nov. 11 deadline ¹.

The tariffs at issue were imposed in July under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. They apply to more than 80 countries and cover nearly all U.S. imports. The administration says they target foreign forced-labor practices. Raskin and other critics say they are really meant to replace the sweeping "liberation day" duties the Supreme Court struck down in February ¹.

From Channel GOPRaskin: Maxwell got the Trump hotel treatmentJamie Raskin · 8 plays · captioned, with the source named

The examples in the letter

On beef, Raskin notes that Trump reportedly met Brazilian billionaire Joesley Batista, co-owner of meat processor JBS, in late August. The next day, Trump announced the U.S. would allow up to 300,000 metric tons of "product for ground beef" to be imported below market prices. JBS's U.S. subsidiary, Pilgrim's Pride, gave $5 million to Trump's 2024 inaugural fund, which Raskin says was the largest donation from any single company ¹.

On diamonds, Raskin notes that the U.S. Labor Department lists them as a product made with forced or child labor. He suggests the exemption followed a June gift to Trump of a gold ring set with 321 natural diamonds from Belgium's Antwerp World Diamond Centre ¹.

On smartphones, he says Chinese-made phones were exempted even though "abusive working conditions are a hallmark of smartphone manufacturing." He cites Apple's reported $25 million donation to Trump's White House ballroom project and Cook's reported $1 million to Trump's 2025 inaugural committee ¹.

You took care to cut lots of sweetheart deals with corporations and industries that won carve-outs from your tariffs when you saw you could get something good in return,

Prices and the vote

Raskin also tied the issue to household costs. He cited the nonpartisan Tax Foundation as expecting the latest round of tariffs to cost an average of $820 per U.S. household this year ¹.

CNBC's most recent All-America Economic Survey found voters are most concerned about government corruption, followed by high grocery and gas prices ¹. CNBC also reports that the letter could preview how Democrats would use oversight powers if they win the House or Senate ¹.

The White House and the USTR did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment ¹. These are Raskin's allegations, and the letter does not prove that any exemption was granted in exchange for money.

Questions about how exemptions are decided are not new. In April 2025, ProPublica reported that, unlike in Trump's first term, there was no formal application process for tariff exemptions. It said executives and lobbyists were making their case privately, and the White House had not explained why many products were exempted ².

The exemptions above only scratch the surface of your profound corruption,

What happens next is up to the White House, which has not said whether it will hand over anything by Nov. 11. A letter from a minority-party member carries no legal force to compel records. That changes only if Democrats win a chamber of Congress and can use subpoena power ¹.

The Record

1. Apr 22, 2025ProPublica reports there is no formal application process for tariff exemptions in Trump's second term ².
2. Jul 1, 2026The administration imposes Section 301 tariffs on more than 80 countries; the exact July day is not given in the CNBC report ¹.
3. Oct 28, 2026Raskin sends Trump a letter demanding tariff-exemption records by Nov. 11 ¹.

Sources

1. CNBC, “Trump is using tariffs as a 'tool for grift,' Raskin says in demand for donor records” (2026-10-28). cnbc.com/2026/10/28/trump-tariffs-corruption-raskin.html
2. ProPublica, “Trump tariff exemptions: pet lobbyists, asbestos, confusion and secrecy” (2025-04-22). propublica.org/article/trump-tariffs-exemptions-pet-lobbyist

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