NRF Blasts as ‘Unconscionable’ Bill to Expand Presidential Tariff Authority

The National Retail Federation blasted trade legislation expected to have been introduced Thursday in the House that would grant broader presidential authority to raise U.S. tariffs on foreign goods. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., told Fox News Wednesday he planned to introduce the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act to give President Donald Trump the “tools” necessary “to make sure that we’re not robbed anymore” on allegedly unfair tariff rates, he said. The EU slaps a 68 percent tariff on imported butter produced in Duffy's 7th congressional district in Wisconsin, while European butter enters the U.S. at only a 3.8 percent levy rate, he said. His legislation would move the U.S. “further away from a tariff war and brings us tariff peace,” he said. Duffy's plan now is to introduce the bill next week after he lands more co-sponsors, a spokesperson told us late Thursday. NRF Senior Vice President David French said Congress “should be working to protect local communities from an escalated trade war” brought on by the Trump administration’s Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports and China’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. Duffy’s “misguided” legislation “would do the exact opposite, giving the executive branch limitless power to raise taxes in the form of tariffs,” said French. “Congress has already ceded far too much of its clear constitutional authority over tariffs, and we are witnessing the consequences unfold across the country. The idea that Congress would make matters even worse by further abdicating its role on trade policy is simply unconscionable.” CTA shares "similar concerns" as NRF about Duffy's legislation, emailed a spokesperson Thursday.