Sen. Lee Continues Push for Bigger Congressional Role in Trade; Trump Making 'Trade Policy Great Again'
Regardless of administration, there's a need to rebalance the trade policy roles of the executive and legislative branches, said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, during a March 30 speech at the American Enterprise Institute (here). Earlier this year, Lee introduced S. 177, the Global Trade Accountability Act, which would make all executive branch trade actions, including tariff increases and reductions, subject to congressional approval. That bill seems unlikely to make much progress in the near future (see 1702100043). President Donald Trump is making "trade policy great again" by reinvigorating debates on trade around the country, he said. "I see it as a good thing." The presidential election showed that voters are fed up with a "shallow contest of political slogans that has for far too long masqueraded as a reasoned, conscious discussion about trade policy."
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While there's "not a lot of immediate appetite to pass this bill right away," it's still time to begin moving in "that direction," he said. The intent of the bill isn't specific to Trump, but "at some point, this president, or a subsequent one, is going to start getting aggressive with this stuff and when that happens I think the opportunity will be right." The bill is policy "agnostic" and would apply to the "formula" involved in developing trade policy, and not the " precise form" the policy takes, he said. "To support this legislation, you don't need to have a particular view on the ideal trade policy for America." The legislation is about changing "the current disparity between the way Congress treats presidential actions that lower trade barriers versus those presidential actions that raise trade barriers," he said.