Senator Ron Johnson is joining a bipartisan effort to try and return control of trade tariffs to Congress.
The bill is sponsored by Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, and would allow Congress to review all tariff agreements made over the past two years.
“For too long Congress has ceded important policymaking authority to the executive branch on a wide range of issues,” Sen. Johnson said. “It’s time for Congress to reclaim its constitutional authorities on tariffs to ensure we don’t undermine the significant economic progress we have made over the last 18 months.”
The move comes days after President Trump called for blanket tariffs against Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
Johnson says these tariffs can push up the overall price of raw materials for American manufacturers. “That makes us less competitive in global markets and that exacerbates the trade deficit, if that’s the metric that President Trump is trying to address.”
“The opening salvos have been fired in what could be a more damaging trade war,” said Johnson. “I’ve said repeatedly, I don’t think anyone wins a trade war. We may lose less than other nations because we do have the world’s largest trade deficit.”
That review process would take 60 days, and would include a debate and a vote on the floors of Congress.
