Democrats Reintroduce Bill to Block IEEPA's Use for Tariffs or Quotas
Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and Don Beyer, D-Va., reintroduced a bill that would remove the possibility of a president using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act to impose quotas or tariffs. Most lawyers think Trump would use IEEPA for a global tariff. The statute is currently used to impose sanctions on parties in Iran, Belarus, Burma, Ethiopia and dozens of other countries.
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The president still would have the ability to raise tariffs without congressional approval through Section 301, or on specific products through sections 201 or 232, but all those laws require studies, and some also require public comment before an agency implements a tariff hike.
DelBene, on a call with reporters Jan. 15, said Canada is preparing a retaliation list, after Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian goods over drug trafficking and migration.
"This is the textbook definition of a trade war," she said. "Congress needs to have a voice -- and a vote."
This bill is different from past bills that tried to constrain the first Trump administration, such as one Beyer was a sponsor of, which would have required that Section 232 tariffs be endorsed by Congress (see 1902010028).
Beyer said he's been consistently arguing for less delegation of tariff authority, at moments when either party held the White House.
"Ultimately, no one wins a trade war," he said, adding that hiking a tariff "can foster the growth of some industries while it destroys others. This power should not be allowed to reside in the hands of one person."
He said using IEEPA to levy tariffs on Canada, Japan or countries of the European Union twists the statute beyond recognition. None of these countries "is a hostile foreign power."
When asked by International Trade Today what chance such a bill could have when pro-free trader Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, never brought forward Section 232 reform during the first Trump administration, DelBene said, "We’ve got work to do." She said she expects there to be a Senate companion bill. "Frankly, Republicans should be supportive of this," she added.
Beyer said Republicans "may not be with us in the short run, because everyone is cowed by the president-elect. But he will be a lame duck from the second day. I am hoping that fear of crossing him diminishes over time."
There are nine other Democrats on the bill, but no Republicans. Several of the Republicans who led the charge on restricting delegation of tariff authority -- Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Rob Portman of Ohio -- decided not to run for re-election in recent years.