President Trump requested in Tuesday’s State of the Union address that Congress expand his power to impose tariffs, saying he needed to be able to respond faster to foreign countries’ moves in trade wars.
“I am also asking you to pass the United States Reciprocal Trade Act, so that if another country places an unfair tariff on an American product, we can charge them the exact same tariff on the same product that they sell to us,” Trump said.
It is an idea that Trump has promoted on occasion in the past, arguing that it would help to eliminate trade deficits.
The proposed legislation would expand the White House’s latitude to impose tariffs if other countries’ tariffs or non-tariff barriers exceed U.S. ones. The legislation would require at least some negotiations with the other countries and for the White House to notify Congress, but the tariff wouldn’t need lawmakers’ approval, according to reports.
The president already has some powers to impose tariffs without congressional approval, primarily by citing national security as a reason. He has used those to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
The Reciprocal Trade Act is likely to face an uphill fight in Congress, where many lawmakers in both parties have opposed Trump’s trade policies. A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation to limit Trump’s ability to use national security as a rationale for tariffs. The business community is rallying behind the bill.
Bryan Riley, trade policy analyst for the National Taxpayers Union, criticized the approach, arguing it effectively lets foreign countries set U.S. trade policies. “Attempting to mirror foreign tariffs is the opposite of an ‘America First’ trade policy because it would result in the U.S. government copying bad policies from other governments instead of pursuing policies that would benefit Americans,” he said.
