Senate holds test vote on bill to require congressional approval for tariffs

On Wednesday, July 11, the Senate held a test vote on S. 3013, a bill that would require the president to seek congressional approval before issuing tariffs on the basis of national security. The test vote was reportedly overwhelmingly supportive, according to cosponsor Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND). The bill was cosponsored also by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) and introduced in early June in direct response to the steel and aluminum tariffs issued by President Donald Trump against most countries, supposedly on the basis of national security. “Countries like Canada are not a national security threat to the United States,” Heitkamp said in her announcement of the vote. “The Senate should now vote to pass this bipartisan legislation I helped introduce and send a clear sign to the administration that rural America will not settle for being pawns in its misguided trade war.” — WLJ