The chairman of the House Select Committee on China said Jan. 22 that the U.S. should take a harder line against China's aggressive policies on trade, investment and other matters.

Three Senate Democrats have introduced a bill to remove the president's ability to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a companion bill to one introduced in the House, which also only had Democratic sponsors (see 2501160069).

Two Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee asked Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative nominee Jamieson Greer to "commit to putting in place a transparent and objective process that protects America’s small businesses and workers" if they decide to grant exclusions to new tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, has reintroduced a bill to impose a blanket 10% additional tariff on all imports, in line with President-elect Donald Trump's campaign promises.

House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., announced Jan. 15 that Margaret Harker will be the panel’s new general counsel. Harker most recently was deputy chief counsel for investigations at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Moolenaar also announced that Alyssa Pettus will become his panel’s communications director, and David Russell will become senior adviser for policy and communications. Dave Hanke will remain staff director.

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.

Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, introduced a bill to prevent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, or ATF, from blocking the import of guns and ammunition.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that senators are starting to have conversations about what incoming President Donald Trump might do on tariffs, and said, "We'll work through that."

Reps. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., and Neal Dunn, R-Fla., introduced a bill to change the scope of packages eligible for de minimis. No bill text was available Jan. 10 from Suozzi's office, but former Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said before he retired that Suozzi would be taking over his push to curtail de minimis.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat who represents Laredo, Texas, said that if Donald Trump, once he becomes president, were to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico, it would be very disruptive to business in his district. Trump re-upped the threat of those tariffs in a press conference earlier this week (see 2501070027). He had said he would hike tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian goods if Mexico and Canada don't crack down to his satisfaction on migration and drug trafficking into the U.S.