“It’s an abuse of that authority.”
As President Donald Trump continues to advance his hard-line protectionist trade agenda, Republican senator Bob Corker is leading an effort to curtail the president’s ability to unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs on national security grounds.
Trump made use of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act in the spring to impose far-reaching tariffs of 25 percent and 10 percent on steel and aluminum, claiming that imports of those products threaten the national security of the United States. Last week, Trump expanded the tariffs to include U. S. allies and close trading partners like Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. Corker has been an outspoken critic of Trump’s strategy, arguing that Congress should reclaim its trade authorities under the Trump administration.
The Tennessee Republican said on Tuesday that his legislation could be introduced as soon as that afternoon. The bill would require approval from Congress within 60 days before the administration could set proposed Section 232 tariffs in place. CNN’s Phil Mattingly reports the bill would be retroactive for two years, meaning it would affect Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs.
Trump has indicated he will continue to use national security grounds to pursue new tariffs. On May 23, Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross announced the department would open a Section 232 investigation into automobile imports. Republican lawmakers were infuriated with the decision, Corker foremost among them.
“It’s an abuse of that authority. It’s very blatant,” Corker said at the time.
Corker would like to include his bill in the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act this week, but has admitted that adding any sort of measure to a piece of legislation can be challenging.
“There’s a lot of interest in it for what it’s worth,” Corker said, according to Mattingly. “I would hope we would be able to add it to NDAA since it’s a national security matter, but moving anything around here is like pushing a major boulder up a hill, so we’ll see.”
Just how much support his effort to roll back Trump’s power can win among Republicans in the Senate is unclear. Senate leaders have expressed skepticism at the prospect, and many members are not particularly eager to invoke Trump’s rage. Corker said on Monday night that he intended to talk up the bill during a Tuesday afternoon lunch meeting with his GOP colleagues. He also told reporters that meetings with different senators to discuss the bill have been taking place, but he declined to say just how many members were on his side. Several members, including Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, have expressed support for the idea.
“There’s a group of us having conversations about restoring the appropriate congressional role in establishing tariffs and managing other aspects of trade,” Toomey told reporters Monday night. Asked whether that group was strong enough to override a presidential veto, Toomey answered, “We’ll see.”
