List 4A Tariffs Take Effect; CTA Renews Call for Curbs on Trump's Trade Authority
As the 15 percent List 4A Section 301 tariffs took effect Sunday on $52 billion worth of TVs, Bluetooth headphones, smartwatches and other Chinese-sourced consumer tech goods, CTA renewed its call for congressional legislation to rein in presidential authority to wage tariff actions. The U.S. president “does not have unilateral authority on trade,” said CTA CEO Gary Shapiro.
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The group alleges the tariffs violate the 1974 Trade Act but in recent months backed away from the threat of litigation to block them. Congress should pass the 2019 Reclaiming Congressional Trade Authority Act, reasserting the legislative branch’s role “in trade policy and protecting Americans from unending trade wars and retaliatory tariffs,” said Shapiro.
Tariffs put into effect since July 2018 “have cost the consumer technology industry more than $10 billion -- including $1 billion on 5G-related products, hindering the U.S. in the critical global race for 5G,” said CTA. “Tariffs will cost the technology industry nearly $7 billion in Q4 2019 alone -- and tariffs will force consumers to pay more for their holiday gifts.”
The legislation, introduced March 27 in the Senate (S-899) by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and June 25 in the House (HR-3477) by Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., would require congressional approval of tariff actions based on national-security threats. To stem the influx of migrants at the southern border, President Donald Trump threatened in June to use his authority under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose 5 percent tariffs on Mexican imports, raising them to 25 percent Oct. 1 “if the crisis persists” (see 1905310014). The threat subsided after a few days. S-2413 barring use of the IEEPA for imposing import tariffs cleared the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee before the August congressional recess (see 1908160044).
The Kaine and Murphy bills haven't progressed. They also would raise congressional oversight of Section 301 tariff actions. Amendments to the Trade Act would bar the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from imposing new tariffs for 60 calendar days after first submitting a "notification of intent" to Congress. The House and Senate also could block the tariffs by enacting a "joint resolution of disapproval," subject to presidential veto and congressional override.
American consumers “were already going to pay higher prices for their holiday gifts” when Trump decided to impose 10 percent tariffs on List 4A goods, said Shapiro. “The president’s decision to hike tariffs even higher means even more pain for American businesses, workers and families,” he said.
The administration’s “unpredictable tariff policy is forcing us down the wrong economic path,” said Shapiro. “Continuous threats of more tariffs and occasional promises that trade talks are progressing mean whiplash for global stock markets. That uncertainty hurts every American with a pension, retirement fund or college savings plan."
Trump's tariffs policy “also compromises our global leadership,” said Shapiro. “U.S. companies have to spend more resources on constantly changing trade rules and less on innovation, new products and our economic health.”