Toomey Says Protectionists Block Debate on Section 232 Reform
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., one of the leading voices in the Senate for free trade, was unable to get changes to the Section 232 statute into the must-pass defense bill that will be taken up during the lame duck session of Congress.
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In response to a question from International Trade Today, Toomey said he had not been optimistic it would make the cut.
"I’ve been wanting a vote on this since President [Donald] Trump imposed these tariffs," he said. They were imposed six years ago. Toomey, who is retiring from the Senate at the end of the year, has 10 of the 28 Senate Finance Committee members as co-sponsors on a proposal that would only allow tariffs or quotas to be imposed under Section 232 if Congress approves them. The bill has 20 co-sponsors in all.
"What’s really, really unforgivable is that we can’t adjudicate this on the Senate floor," he said. "Let's have a big debate, let's have an argument about whether this law should be used the way it has been, about whether it’s appropriate for Congress to have the final say in the imposition of tariffs for national security -- and then let's vote! And see where we are."
Toomey said Trump used the tariffs against allies on our continent, in Europe and in Asia -- "anyone he wanted to punish or coerce into a trade negotiation."
"I’m sorry, buying a small amount of specialty steel from Canada does not constitute a threat to our national security," he said.
Toomey said his bill, even with strong bipartisan support, can't get oxygen in the Senate because "the protectionists, frankly, in the Senate don’t want any part of this, because they like the idea that a president could misuse this power and impose tariffs, because that would restrict trade and that’s what they’re about. This is very, very, very frustrating."
The office of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, who has the power to hold a vote in committee on the bill, did not respond to a request for comment after Toomey's afternoon remarks and before press time.
"We’ve got a lot to do to re-establish a consensus in favor of free trade," Toomey said during a question-and-answer period following a talk at the Council on Foreign Relations on Oct. 12.