According to news reports, the US Senate voted today 88-11 to pass a provision that instructs lawmakers working on reconciling spending bills to include language that would give Congress a role in Section 232 tariffs. However, the bill in nonbinding and has no force of law, and it is unlikely to be met with a similar response in the House of Representatives due to Speaker Paul Ryan’s response that he does not want to “hamstring the president.”
Republican Senator Jeff Flake said the next step will be legislation addressing the implementation of Section 232 tariffs.
The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) issued the statement in support of the provision.
“The Coalition applauds the Senate for taking this important first step to reassert its authority in the implementation of Section 232 tariffs. Senators are listening to their constituents—small and medium sized manufacturers across the country—who are facing the real world unintended consequences of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. These consequences for U.S. manufacturers include price spikes of more than 50 percent, delivery delays and the inability to source the steel and aluminum they need from both foreign and domestic suppliers. The result is lost business to overseas competitors who can purchase steel at globally competitive prices. The Coalition calls on the Trump Administration to end these damaging tariffs as soon as possible.”