Sen. Grassley Still Interested in Section 232 Reform
Last month, a bipartisan proposal in the House of Representatives called for Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum to be dropped unless Congress approved them within 75 days of the bill's enactment, and also restricted presidents' ability to hike tariffs under the guise of national security going forward.
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Ways and Means Committee member Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said in a hallway interview at the Capitol on Sept. 19 that he's trying to get all the Ways and Means members to sign onto his bill that would give Congress a say in Section 232 tariffs. "We just introduced it," he said. "I'm confident we'll get a bunch."
"I'm optimistic that we can push it through. Certainly, I've been in a number of trade briefings the last couple of days. Everybody I've talked to wants [the tariffs and quotas] to go away."
When asked if those meetings were with representatives from foreign governments, Beyer said "and also domestic manufacturers. I met with the Beer Institute yesterday. The 232 thing just killed them."
"Of course, it's easier now with the Republican members, because we have a Democratic president," he said with a chuckle. Trump "is the one who put them in place, but Biden kept them in place."
There's no Senate companion bill yet, but former Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he would still like to see Congress narrow presidential authority to hike tariffs under Section 232. He said he couldn't bring forward a bill when Trump was in office because the two groups trying to reform the bill could never reconcile their approaches. (Former Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, wanted the bill to only be prospective; former Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., wanted to address existing tariffs. Portman's bill gave Congress veto power only, whereas Toomey's bill, like Beyer's bill (see 2308110031, would only allow tariffs if Congress approved.)
"Over the last 80 to 100 years, Congress has delegated too much of its power to legislate to presidents. And it's probably been abused by both Republicans and Democrats," Grassley told International Trade Today during a phone call with reporters Sept. 19.
Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., was noncommittal about the bill, saying he hasn't read the text or talked with Beyer and co-sponsor Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Mich., but said he is pleased when he sees members of Congress engage on trade. "That's important," he said.
He said he'd like to talk with the bill's authors about how Congress "can be most strategic about it, given the lack of a trade agenda from the administration."