Sen. Chuck Grassley, a senior Republican lawmaker from the farm-heavy state of Iowa, is spearheading legislation that would reassert Congress’ authority over tariffs amid President Donald Trump’s trade war escalation.
The measure, jointly introduced Thursday with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), would limit the president’s power to impose tariffs. It would require the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of such an imposition and for Congress to explicitly approve any new tariffs within 60 days. The bill also would allow Congress to end any tariff at any time.
It’s highly unlikely this proposal will ever become law. Still, support from Grassley — who chairs the Judiciary Committee, sits on the Finance Committee and is third in line for the presidency as the Senate’s president pro tempore — sends a strong signal about the GOP’s growing unease with Trump’s actions and the party’s willingness to say something about it.
The president moved the previous day to slap tariffs spanning between 10 percent and 50 percent on countries across the globe, following through on his promise to impose reciprocal tariffs on foreign trade partners and upending the global economic order in the process.
