Press Releases
House Democrats Introduce Legislation to Reclaim Congressional Trade PowersUnited States Representatives Jimmy Panetta, Suzan DelBene, Don Beyer, Brad Schneider, and Terri Sewell introduced the Reclaim Trade Powers Act, which would modernize outdated trade authorities and ensure that Congress, not the Administration, has the final say when it comes to imposing broad tariffs. This legislation was introduced ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned widespread tariffs on U.S. trading partners. “The balance of payments authority has been mischaracterized and misused to justify broad, indiscriminate tariffs that bypass Congressional oversight,” said Rep. Panetta. “The Reclaim Trade Powers Act would close that loophole and help establish a trade policy that reflects modern economic realities rather than outdated statutes. This legislation would protect our economy from unnecessary and harmful tariffs, ensure major trade decisions are not made solely by executive branch, and restore Congressional authority over trade.” “Outdated laws are providing President Trump with the opening to argue that he can unilaterally impose huge tax increases on American consumers without congressional approval,” said Rep. DelBene. “This legislation is one of several that would reaffirm Congress’ constitutional role in trade policy and ensure the president alone cannot impose broad-based tariffs, which are taxes, on our trading partners,” said DelBene. “No one should be under any illusion that the Trump administration would require an actual balance in payments crisis to levy these across the board tariffs,” said Rep. Beyer. “Pretextual and dishonest justifications are this president’s stock-in-trade, which makes this executive authority simply too dangerous to leave on the books.” “It's long past time that Congress assert its constitutional responsibilities and put a check on President Trump's reckless, arbitrary, and punitive approach to trade policy, which is only hurting our consumers, companies, and economy,” said Rep. Schneider. “We must close outdated loopholes—like Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, among others—that Trump is using to impose sweeping tariffs while punishing our small businesses, retirement accounts, and economy.” “In a few short months, President Trump has abused multiple trade authorities as he initiates trade wars with our allies,” said Rep. Sewell. “Congress must act to draw back trade authorities from this administration in order to protect American consumers, farmers, and manufacturers from President Trump’s reckless trade agenda. I am proud to join my colleagues in this effort to strengthen our checks against this administration.” The Reclaim Trade Powers Act would strike Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which currently allows the President to impose sweeping 15% tariffs on all imports in the event of a so-called balance of payments crisis. This provision, originally intended to address a scenario in which a nation's currency is backed by a commodity or foreign currency, is no longer applicable since the United States is no longer on the gold standard. In recent years, the Trump Administration misused the term “balance of payments issue” to justify imposing tariffs based on trade imbalances, rather than genuine economic crises. This misuse underscores the need for Congress to reassert its Constitutional role in trade policy. By repealing Section 122, the Reclaim Trade Powers Act would:
|