Toomey’s tariff teeth

Published February 15, 2019 5:00am ET



Lawmakers want to hold President Trump accountable for his tariff power, or at least they’d like to make a show of doing so. That’s the reality behind two separate bills introduced in the Senate that both claim to give Congress back its authority on trade. Unfortunately, only one of them actually has teeth, and lawmakers should support it rather than its milquetoast rival.

Exploiting power that previous Congresses ceded to the executive, the president has used tariffs to wage trade wars against friends and rivals alike. Without needing Congress, that is, Trump has hiked taxes on American consumers.

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