Business Groups Ask Senate to Constrain Trump on Section 232 Tariffs
Lawmakers should vote for legislation to limit the president's ability to impose Section 232 tariffs, more than 60 national business groups and more than 200 local chambers of commerce and similar organizations pleaded with the Senate in a letter sent June 26. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., led a charge to give Congress a way to roll back the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and to block similar tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, but it stalled because Senate leaders said such a measure has to originate in the House of Representatives, as it affects revenue.
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House Speaker Paul Ryan, asked by a reporter June 26 whether he would support reining in the president's ability to levy tariffs, given Harley-Davidson's announcement June 25 about moving some of its production outside the U.S. to avoid the new tariffs (see 1806250019), did not directly answer. He said, "I don't think tariffs are the right way to go," and said the U.S. is getting escalating tariffs as a result. "One of the reasons we did tax reform was to make it easier for businesses to keep manufacturing in America and exporting overseas."
But even with the Corker amendment's initial failure, its existence gives business groups a course of action to push for, as this letter shows (see 1806150037). "While the President should still have this type of authority [to implement tariffs based on national security], the current circumstances highlight the need for Congress to ensure that the authority will be used, as intended by the Congress, in the overall national interest," the letter says. "The legislation offered by Senator Corker and his colleagues is designed to accomplish this limited objective. The President will retain the power to impose tariffs to protect the national security subject only to confirmation by the Congress that the power is being properly used. This change is appropriate and overdue, and we urge you to support it when it is brought forward for a vote in the Senate."
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., a co-sponsor of the amendment, hesitated when asked by International Trade Today if the effort is gaining momentum. "Well, hard to say, but we might find out a little bit at lunch time," he said, as he headed to the Republican Conference weekly lunch.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who serves in Republican leadership, said of the letter, "I understand where they're coming from. There's a lot of consternation about these tariffs and the potential impacts on the economy, and I think that business organizations across the country are engaging. It's probably a good thing." He did not, however, answer the question of whether he'd be supporting an effort to constrain the administration on Section 232 tariffs.