Sen. Lee to Introduce Bill to Assert Congressional Authority Over Tariff Changes

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, plans to introduce a bill that would make all executive branch trade actions, including tariff raises, subject to congressional approval, as part of his call for Congress to reclaim constitutional powers to lead U.S. trade policy, he wrote in an opinion column for Forbes (here). The yet-to-be-introduced Global Trade Accountability Act would help ensure that Congress would be involved in any decision that would increase trade barriers, Lee said. One example of a statute giving the executive branch “far too much power” to raise tariffs is Trade Act of 1974 Section 122, which allows the president to impose temporary import “surcharges” of up to 15 percent on any goods to deal with “large and serious” U.S. balance-of-payment deficits, Lee said.

Additionally, Lee suggested that an authority granted under Section 301 of that law to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to use duties and erect trade barriers in response to unfair trade practices could render Americans “powerless to stop the next administration’s tariff decisions.” He added that both sides of the aisle should work together on legislation that would give Congress more trade powers. “Throughout the campaign President-elect Trump advocated raising tariffs on imports from countries, like China, with whom the United States runs a large trade deficit,” Lee said. “While some Americans support such a policy, there’s no denying that such a move would wreak havoc on many small and midsize manufacturers in my home state of Utah and across the country that rely on imports and globally connected supply chains.”