Tariff bill unlikely, Senate leader says

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that it is “highly unlikely” the Senate will take up legislation to undo President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs.

But he said Republican lawmakers remain concerned about the steep levies and continue to press the administration to narrow their scope.

“The thought that the president would sign a bill that would undo actions he’s taken strikes me as remote at best, and I like to use floor time in the Senate for things that actually have a chance to become law,” McConnell, R-Ky., said at his weekly news conference in the Capitol. “So I think it’s highly unlikely we’d be dealing with that in a legislative way.”

The tariffs of 25 percent

on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum provoked an outcry from GOP lawmakers when Trump announced them earlier this month. He ultimately exempted Canada and Mexico, at least for now, when he finalized the tariffs last week, and Republican lawmakers are continuing to push for additional exemptions for specialty industries or products.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., has introduced legislation to nullify the tariffs, but he’s among few lawmakers who have shown an appetite to challenge Trump on the issue legislatively. Flake is a Trump critic who is retiring from Congress.

Others have pointed out that any legislation against the tariffs would face steep hurdles. Democratic votes would be needed to pass such legislation through the Senate, and a majority of 67 votes would need to be assembled to override the veto.

And even though the tariffs have provoked louder opposition from fellow Republicans than anything else Trump has done in office, the political reality is that few incumbent GOP lawmakers are eager to tangle publicly with the president.

“I just think it could be very difficult for it to pass, and I know the president wouldn’t sign it,” said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chairman of the Agriculture Committee and one of the most outspoken opponents of the tariffs because of the potential for retaliation on agricultural products.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he has spoken with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to make the case for relief for industries in Wisconsin that use imported steel in their products.

“In my conversation with him he’s certainly aware of the challenges to steel-using industries like we have in Wisconsin, and they’re going to do everything they can to try and mitigate the unintended consequences of those,” Johnson said.

Also Tuesday, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development warned

that the tariffs will hurt economic growth globally.

The organization, a policy adviser to developed economies, said that while the global economy is improving, “trade protectionism remains a key risk that would negatively affect confidence, investment and jobs.”

“Governments should avoid escalation,” it said in an update to its forecasts.

The organization expects world economic growth to accelerate to 3.9 percent this year and next, from 3.7 percent in 2017. It expects the U.S. to accelerate thanks to lower taxes, and sees a pick-up also in several developing countries. By contrast, it predicts a gradual slowdown in the 19-country eurozone, Britain, China and Japan.

Bloomberg/ANDREW HARRER Emissions rise from the U.S. Steel Corp.’s Clairton Mill Works in Clairton, Pa. A legislative leader says any effort to undo President Donald Trump’s tariff increases will face steep hurdles.