Congress Sends Trump Message On Tariffs Hitting US Economy
James WhitmanThe US Senate is set to take a third vote on President Donald Trump's tariff regime, capping a week of rare, bipartisan rebukes on one of the most important pieces of his economic policy.
The US Senate is set to take a third vote on President Donald Trump's tariff regime, capping a week of rare, bipartisan rebukes on one of the most important pieces of his economic policy.
The Republican-held Senate has already voted — albeit narrowly — to end emergency authorities underpinning the tariffs on Canada and Brazil. On Thursday, the Senate is set to consider measures against the emergency powers Trump cited to impose tariffs most other countries.
As Trump wraps up a weeklong trip to Asia on Thursday by forging an extended truce with China, the largely symbolic resolutions in Washington are the loudest protests from Capitol Hill so far over Trump's use of congressionally delegated authority to tax imports.
Since taking office in January, Trump has unilaterally put tariffs on goods from dozens of trading partners by invoking rarely used emergency powers. He's had help from House Republican leaders who've moved to make it harder for opponents to force a vote challenging them.
American importers pay the tariffs, despite Trump's claims that foreign countries foot the bill, and the hefty additional costs are crushing many small businesses.
This week's Senate votes coincide with growing unease in some corners of the economy. About 60% of businesses surveyed in the latest Small Business Now report from Constant Contact said they make half of their yearly sales in the fourth quarter, while 70% of shoppers said they were on the hunt for deals and promotions. Nearly half of the businesses surveyed reported having a negative impact from tariffs and 43% said they had plans to raise prices.
A 'Fallacy'Democratic Senator Tim Kaine announced the passage of the Canada resolution during a panel on Congress's role in the trade war at the Peterson Institute for International Economics on Wednesday. Kaine, who represents Virginia, was joined at the event with the resolution's co-sponsor, Republican Senator Rand Paul.
Paul and Kaine each took issue with Trump citing trade deficits as justification for using emergency powers and highlighted their states reliance on international trade.
"Interestingly, the trade deficit is actually going up this year," Paul said. "It's important to talk about the trade deficit, because I think it's a fallacy that it means anything."
The Supreme Court agreed to take on the issue on an expedited schedule and will hear arguments next week on the legality of the president's broad use of tariffs in emergencies. Trump has lost such cases in lower courts.Read More: Wall Street Bets on Tariff Refunds If Court Rules Against Trump
Paul likened the administration's tariff rollout to Soviet industrial policy, that favors large, well-connected companies with tariff exemptions and access.
"The trade commissar comes into my caucus and everybody's like, `Can I kiss your ring? Do I need to get on one knee? And they say, 'Oh, we love you so much. And we love the president,'" Paul said.At the same time, he said small businesses are being hammered by import taxes on the industrial robots and materials they need to revitalize domestic manufacturing, a key Trump policy goal.Executive Power
The votes demonstrate the difficulty lawmakers face in regaining the trade authority Congress has ceded to the White House. In order to become law, the measures would have to pass the House and be signed by the president, who would almost certainly veto it.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made clear to reporters he's deferring to Trump on all trade matters and earlier this year he delayed a fight over the legality of Trump's tariffs until at least the end of January.
The Republicans that split with Trump over the Brazil tariffs did so in spite of a warning from Vice President JD Vance earlier in the day, who stopped by the Capitol on Tuesday before the vote.
There are signs that Trump's tariffs could prove to be a challenge for House Republicans in next year's midterm elections, however. A small group of GOP lawmakers waged a short-lived revolt over the president's trade policies in September.
