Bipartisan Bill Introduced in House to Require Congressional Approval of Future Tariffs
Reps. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., have introduced a bill that would require congressional approval for certain future tariff actions, matching legislation introduced by senators last week (see 2504030018).
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Meeks had previously tried to rescind the emergency underlying the tariffs on Canada and Mexico, but Republicans blocked it for the rest of the year.
This bill doesn't go as far as a bill introduced by House Ways and Means Democrats, which would rescind both the Canada and Mexico tariffs and the global tariffs President Donald Trump imposed under the guise of achieving reciprocal trade. Rather, it would sunset future tariffs levied by a president after 60 days unless Congress approves.
Bacon, in a hallway interview at the Capitol on April 10, said he would be open to looking at the Ways and Means Democrats' bill, though he said he thinks it's valuable to have bills in each chamber that match exactly. "I'm not an anti-tariff [guy] across the board," he said "But I don't like tariffing our friends. We were in TTIP [Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership] negotiations with Europe, and we pulled out of it. That's where you settle these things, I believe."
Bacon noted that Japan and Australia also are strong allies, that we have a free-trade agreement with Australia, as well as a trade surplus with that country, and yet it still faces 10% tariffs under an action meant to remedy trade deficits.
"I just want common sense applied here, and I think Congress has a role. Our founders never envisioned one person doing unilateral tariff policy like this," he said.
Bacon said he was on a radio call-in show, and someone accused him of not being conservative for supporting this bill. "No, this is the conservative position. We're Constitutionalists. You all have changed; I have not."
The National Foreign Trade Council issued an endorsement of bicameral bills on April 10. "Appropriate oversight by the Congress can ensure that tariff actions support the broader national interests and balance both the economic benefits and potential negative effects that some of these policies may have on American businesses and consumers across the country," said Tiffany Smith, vice president for global trade policy.