Congress must take back its authority on trade
President Trump’s threats of a trade war, and his recent signing of tariffs on steel and aluminum, can and should be constrained by Congress reasserting its constitutional authority over trade policy.
Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution grants Congress the authority to regulate trade with foreign nations. Like many functions, however, Congress has ceded considerable authority to the executive branch.
Prompted by Trump’s escalation of protectionist rhetoric on trade, it is a welcomed development that so many Republican members of Congress have woken up to their constitutional responsibilities.
While House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, has sought to convince the president of the folly of planned tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has called for passage of legislation to counterbalance unilateral actions on trade from the executive branch.
Lee’s Global Trade Accountability Act, which he introduced last year, would amend the Trade Act of 1974 to require congressional approval for any presidential action which could restrict trade.
“The purpose of the bill is to restore the proper balance of power between the branches of government,” Lee said in an interview with Forbes. “This is an especially important thing to do as the Constitution gives Congress the power to lay and collect taxes and duties and regulate commerce with foreign nations.”
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, has also announced plans to introduce legislation nullifying Trump’s tariffs.
Such legislation deserves the support of those who are not only acutely concerned with Trump’s rhetoric on trade as of late, but those who value a commitment to the Constitution and reining in the imperial presidency.
While Trump should feel free to question certain trade agreements, his tool of choice, tariffs, would do far more harm than good. We only need to look back at the harm President Bush’s 2002 tariffs on steel had on the economy to know that they aren’t the solution. Rather than reinvigorating the domestic steel industry, they cost the U.S. 200,000 jobs and billions in lost wages.
Congressional Republicans should stand up for the constitution and against counterproductive protectionism, and curtail the president’s unilateral authority on trade policy.
Congressional Republicans should stand up for the constitution and against counterproductive protectionism, and curtail the president’s unilateral authority on trade policy.