Bill to Curtail Presidential Authority to Hit Allies, FTA Partners Introduced
Two Democrats have introduced a bill in the Senate that, if it becomes law, would prevent a president from levying tariffs on free-trade partners, on NATO members and on major non-NATO allies without congressional approval.
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The bill, which was made public the day before President Donald Trump's self-imposed deadline to hit Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs, is called Stopping Tariffs on Allies and Bolstering Legislative Exercise of (Stable) Trade Policy Act.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del, said in a press release, "Congress gave the president the authority to impose tariffs so that he could combat our enemies in the event of a national security crisis, not so that he could pursue grudges against our allies and neighbors. If the president is going [to] abuse this power to bully and coerce our allies, Congress should take this authority back."
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said "no president should abuse existing tariff authorities designed to protect America’s national security from threats posed by our adversaries to slap tariffs on our allies and closest trading partners." The release noted that Canada and Mexico are parties to a NAFTA successor agreement that Trump's representatives negotiated during his first term as president. It said almost one-third of goods imported last year were from Canada and Mexico.
The bill goes further than a House bill that clarifies that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act cannot be used to raise tariffs, as it says that Section 232 and Section 338 also require congressional approval before tariffs are levied on allies or FTA partners.
The submission to Congress of a president's desire to hike tariffs under these laws must explain why tariffs are better than diplomacy, and must include an assessment of how the tariffs will affect the U.S. economy and its foreign policy interests.
The law does not curtail the use of Section 301, the law used to hike tariffs on China, or the use of safeguards.
Separately, two powerful Democrats in the Senate criticized Trump's tariff plans for the weekend.
The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said that imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on China would raise prices for U.S. consumers, lead to retaliation against U.S. exports, and would not solve fentanyl smuggling.
“I’m all for cracking down on China’s trade cheating, blocking fentanyl smuggling and shoring up the border, but Trump’s random tariff actions are just a pointless attack on American families," Wyden said in a press release. "This is not in any way a genuine effort to address fentanyl overdoses. The Trump administration knows that, and it’s disgusting that they’re exploiting the fentanyl epidemic as cover for Trump’s tariffs.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York also issued a release criticizing the action. "It would be nice if Donald Trump could start focusing on getting the prices down instead of making them go up," he said. "We should be focused on going hard against competitors who rig the game, like China, rather than attacking our allies. If these tariffs go into full effect, they will raise prices for everything from groceries, to cars, to gas, making it even harder for middle-class families to just get by."
Press secretaries for the two men did not immediately respond to a question about whether they would consider signing on to the Stable Trade Policy Act.