Lawmakers introduce amendment to require approval for tariffs

Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Bob Corker (R-TN) introduced an amendment on June 6 to H.R. 5515—the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019—which reached the Senate for consideration on June 4. The amendment would require congressional approval of tariffs designated for national security reasons under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. In her announcement of the amendment she cosponsored, Heitkamp specifically referenced the steel and aluminum tariffs that were imposed on most countries back in March, and applied to previously-exempted Canada, Mexico, and the European Union on June 1. The amendment additionally would allow Congress to consider any and all such tariffs enacted in the past two years. “Our bipartisan bill would make sure Congress has a key oversight role if a president imposes tariffs under the claim of national security reasons,” said Heitkamp. “The implications of these tariffs are significant—on our own producers and businesses because of retaliatory tariffs we’re now seeing and on our relationships with our allies who could use the same claims of national security to impose tariffs on us. Huge economic policy decisions like tariffs shouldn’t be taken lightly, and Congress should serve as a needed check to make sure we aren’t losing out in the end.” — WLJ