Nearly 300 groups support tariff authority check

Legislation would require Congress to sign off on any executive branch moves to adjust imports on the basis of national security.    A coalition of more than 270 national, state and local U.S. business groups on Tuesday sent a letter to the Senate in support of a bill by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., to require congressional approval for any presidential action to adjust imports on the basis of national security pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
   Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs are inviting retaliation from the United States’ “largest trading partners and closest allies,” and a new “threat” to levy a 25 percent tariff on all imports of automobiles and auto parts pursuant to Section 232 would inflict “enormous harm” on the U.S. economy, said the groups, which include the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, American Apparel & Footwear Association, and American Association of Exporters and Importers, to name a few.
   Amid the Commerce Department’s Section 232 investigation into automotive imports initiated in May, President Donald Trump reportedly has said in meetings with senior administration officials that he wants to impose 25 percent tariffs on automobiles and auto parts.
   The letter says that following through on that threat would affect $350 billion of imports — and invite more retaliation.
   “As you know, Article I of the Constitution assigns the Congress exclusive authority to regulate foreign trade and levy taxes, including tariffs,” the letter to senators states. “The Congress used this power to delegate to the president the authority to impose tariffs, without congressional oversight, to safeguard national security in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. While the president should still have this type of authority, 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 groups added that the reallocation of trade authorities from the executive branch to Congress is “appropriate and overdue,” and urged senators to support Corker’s legislation when it advances for a vote.
   Specifically, the bill would amend Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 by eliminating language that authorizes the president to determine any trade actions regarding imports found to impact national security and replacing it with a provision requiring the White House to submit to Congress a proposal for any trade actions within 15 days of making such a determination.
   Corker had worked to insert the language as an amendment to the Senate version of the yearly National Defense Authorization Act, which passed earlier this month. But Senate GOP leadership ultimately declined to raise the provisions for a vote during floor debate on the bill.