Bill Constraining Trump on Trade Reintroduced in House
A House bill that would limit the ability of the president to unilaterally raise tariffs or block imports without congressional approval was reintroduced by Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, and 10 co-sponsors, including prominent members of the Freedom Caucus. Davidson calls the bill the Global Trade Accountability Act, and he first introduced it in March 2018. Its likelihood of becoming law is slim, because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has repeatedly said he will not bring forward bills he expects the president would veto.
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The bill would allow the president to implement higher tariffs or quotas for 90 days on emergency or national security grounds. But that change would not be renewable. Before voting on the changes to imports, Congress would receive a report on whether the action is in the national economic interest, what the effect of retaliatory tariffs could be on the economy and how long the tariffs or quotas would be in place.
"Thankfully, President Trump has made fixing the broken trade deals a priority," Davidson said as he announced the bill's introduction Jan. 23. "American manufacturing is vital to our economy and security. Owning manufacturing companies, I experienced the harmful effects of bad trade policy firsthand. Congress needs to join the President to collaboratively address the substantial impact of trade policy on job creators, farmers, and consumers in Ohio and across the country.”
Freedom Partners commended the bill's introduction on Jan. 24. Executive Vice President Nathan Nascimento said, "Tariffs are just another tax on Americans. They should require a vote by Congress before taking effect. The administration’s tariffs have triggered retaliatory levies which, taken together, have injected higher costs, job layoffs, and tremendous uncertainty into the global economy."