List 4A Tariffs Take Effect; CTA Renews Call for Curbs on Trump's Trade Authority

As the 15 percent List 4A Section 301 tariffs took effect Sunday on $52 billion worth of TVs, Bluetooth headphones, smartwatches and other China-sourced consumer tech goods, the Consumer Technology Association marked the development by renewing its call for congressional legislation to rein in presidential authority to wage tariff actions. The U.S. president “does not have unilateral authority on trade,” CTA CEO Gary Shapiro said.

The group alleges the tariffs run afoul of the 1974 Trade Act, but in recent months has backed away from the threat of litigation to block them. Congress should pass the 2019 Reclaiming Congressional Trade Authority Act (see 1906250029), reasserting the legislative branch’s role “in trade policy and protecting Americans from unending trade wars and retaliatory tariffs,” Shapiro said.

Tariffs put into effect since July 2018 “have cost the consumer technology industry more than $10 billion -- including $1 billion on 5G-related products, hindering the U.S. in the critical global race for 5G,” CTA said. “Tariffs will cost the technology industry nearly $7 billion in Q4 2019 alone -- and tariffs will force consumers to pay more for their holiday gifts.”

American consumers “were already going to pay higher prices for their holiday gifts” when Trump decided to impose 10 percent tariffs on List 4A goods, Shapiro said. “The president’s decision to hike tariffs even higher means even more pain for American businesses, workers and families,” he said.

The administration’s “unpredictable tariff policy is forcing us down the wrong economic path,” Shapiro said. “Continuous threats of more tariffs and occasional promises that trade talks are progressing mean whiplash for global stock markets. That uncertainty hurts every American with a pension, retirement fund or college savings plan. Trump's tariffs policy “also compromises our global leadership,” Shapiro said. “U.S. companies have to spend more resources on constantly changing trade rules and less on innovation, new products and our economic health.”