Congress Seeks to End Emergency That Is Based on Trade Deficits
After a resolution to roll back the tariffs on Canada passed the Senate, Senate Democrats and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., are pushing for a similar vote to end reciprocal tariffs and a global 10% tariff, as are 26 Democrats in the House.
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The resolution, announced on April 8, is expected to get a vote in the Senate after Congress returns from a Passover/Easter recess. If the trade deficit emergency is terminated, so, too, would tariffs of 20% on the EU, 46% on Vietnam, 49% on Cambodia, and so on. For countries with trade surpluses in goods with the U.S., the president applied a 10% tariff via the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA.
House Republicans blocked an earlier effort in the House to terminate the emergencies for Mexico and Canada that underpin 25% tariffs on some imports from those countries. Because of the power the House has to structure rules, both Democrats and Republicans have blocked such votes in the past, and it is likely this effort would also be blocked.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and four other Democrats are original co-cosponsors in the Senate. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Massachusetts' Rep. Richard Neal, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., led the effort in the House.
In a press release announcing the Senate resolution, Paul said: "Our Founders were clear: tax policy should never rest in the hands of one person. Abusing emergency powers to impose blanket tariffs not only drives up costs for American families but also tramples on the Constitution. It’s time Congress reasserts its authority and restores the balance of power."
Schumer said: "Trump is leading America headfirst into a recession, with no plans on how to right the cratering economy. The Senate has the power and authority to stop this madness, and we have a duty to act in a bipartisan way to repeal these tariffs."
Wyden said: "Enough is enough. No president should have the power to tax everything Americans buy without being accountable to Congress. Unless Republicans join with Democrats and take back Congress’s power over trade policy, the damage could take years to reverse."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said: "The Trump tariffs are economic sabotage, and Congress has the power to stop them."
"Trump is dragging our country into a trade war against our allies and imposing the largest tax increase on the American people in our history -- all without a single vote in the House of Representatives. Congress can end this chaos, but Republicans are too busy rolling over for Trump. This resolution would put Republicans on the record about supporting these sweeping tariffs or standing with their constituents," DelBene said in a press release on the House effort.