Grassley empowered

Grassley: Since the president says he loves tariffs, the fact that he isn’t going to impose them means he must be getting something that he wants. As I’ve been briefed just very generally about some of it, if I’ve been briefed accurately, they’re accomplishing a lot more than I thought they would. Now, of course, if you think you’ve accomplished something with China, you’ve got to wait a while to actually know [you did] accomplish it.

I’m hopeful that they get an agreement, particularly if it deals with intellectual property and pressure on our companies to share secrets with them. If he’s relying on [U.S. Trade Representative] Bob Lighthizer — if he’s given Bob Lighthizer plenty of freedom — then I’m sure [they will] because I think Bob’s tough.

Washington Examiner: Does that affect work you’ve been doing to potentially rein in some of the president’s power to unilaterally impose tariffs?

Grassley: Not at all. That’s a separate issue … that [has] probably only come to light because of the president using the national security [tariff power] for things that I don’t think are very directly related to national security, to wake me up to the fact that too much congressional power was delegated [to the president].

I don’t know exactly to what extent we recoup some of that, but I’m in the process of finding out. I think we ought to be able to get a broad bipartisan agreement that is somewhere between [the two bills being offered by Sens.] Toomey [R-Pa.] and Portman [R-Ohio].

Washington Examiner: Do you think the Trump administration is doing enough to help farmers and other businesses affected by tariffs placed on their crops by China in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods?

Grassley: If we only lost [the amount farmers have so far] and don’t lose any market share to Brazil, then we probably will soon recoup back to the point where we were originally hurt. Only time will tell. But farmers don’t want help from the federal Treasury, they want markets. You work for decades to build up markets, and you can see them destroyed in just a few months. It makes farmers very desperate.

Washington Examiner: Former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen recently said that President Trump doesn’t understand how international trade works. Do you think that he does?

Grassley: She was basing her comment on something he said about things that the Federal Reserve would impact [on] international trade. From that standpoint I think she’s correct. But I think she’s wrong if she thinks he doesn’t understand anything about international trade. Because you might say he understands more about international trade than any other president I’ve served under has … We’ve had a trade war for decades, and we lost!

He’s realizing that maybe the United States, after 70 years, needed a little bit of deference from the rest of the world. We’ve already had low tariffs for 70 years. What other president has done anything about [China forcing U.S. companies to give up intellectual property to operate there]? If he can get something done, I would say Yellen’s wrong.

Washington Examiner: Are you confident the president’s updated version of NAFTA, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, will pass this Congress?

Grassley: If you told me [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi was willing to bring it up, the answer is yes. If Pelosi does like she did with Colombia [the U.S.–Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement], not bringing that up until we get a Republican House of Representatives again, then I’m not so sure.

I hope she wants to bring it up, and I want to work with her to bring it up, and if she ever wants to meet with me to talk about the concerns that Democrats have about environment, labor, and enforcement, I think there’s got to be some accommodations made and I’m willing to listen to them.

Washington Examiner: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants to raise and index the federal gas tax to pay for the administration’s infrastructure plans, and congressional Democrats have suggested similar ways to pay for it. Do you support that, and is that something you think could pass in the Senate?

Grassley: I think the gas tax is outdated in the era of electric cars and flex fuel cars and hybrid cars. Trouble is, the only thing that could take its place is a mileage one, and I’m not sure we’re prepared for that. I don’t want to say that I’m absolutely opposed to an increase in the gas tax, but I think it’s an outdated way of financing highways.

Washington Examiner: You said earlier this year that you would be briefed on the power you have as Senate Finance Committee chairman to request and review the president’s tax returns. Have you had that briefing?

Grassley: My staff has had that briefing, and they’ve reported to me. But I think it was read as being just applicable to the president’s taxes. No, this was more generally on what we’re doing on privacy and what the Finance Committee can do. But I want you to know I’m not for the president’s tax papers being made public, but if [Democrats] on the [House] Ways and Means [Committee] are going to get them, we’re going to get them.

But [Section] 6103 [the law giving the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means chairmen power to request tax returns] was passed because Nixon was using the IRS to go after his political enemies, and maybe LBJ did that, I don’t know. This is purely politically driven, what the Democrats in the House are trying to do on his income tax.