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Import tariffs

Sen. Bob Corker: 'Large number' of Republicans back his challenge to Trump's tariffs

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Corker said Tuesday that “a large number” of Senate Republicans are supporting his call for legislation challenging President Trump’s decision to impose steep tariffs on U.S. trading partners.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Corker, a Tennessee Republican and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, plans to introduce a bill this week that would give Congress the power to authorize or reject any new tariffs imposed because of national security concerns. He is working on the legislation with Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.

Corker pitched the proposal to his fellow Republicans during their weekly policy luncheon on Tuesday. He  told reporters afterward that the legislation had been well-received by several GOP senators.

Asked if GOP leaders are on board, Corker said, “We’ll see.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said he also spoke to Corker about the proposal on Tuesday.  “I believe there is some Democratic support for it,” he said.

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Corker and other Republicans are pushing back on Trump's decision late last month to impose steep steel and aluminium tariffs on U.S. allies, a move that analysts said pushed the United States closer to a trade war. 

Canada, Mexico and the European Union are now subject to a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum. Brazil, Argentina and Australia agreed to limit steel exports to the U.S. to avoid tariffs.

The tariffs angered many Republicans, who fear they will touch off a trade war with American allies.

Corker, who has had other brushes with Trump in the past, said last week that imposing tariffs against trading partners “is the wrong approach and represents an abuse of authority intended only for national security purposes.”

He also has suggested Trump is abusing his power – potentially for political purposes — by initiating an investigation into whether importing automobiles poses a threat to national security.

The legislation that Corker intends to file would require the president to submit to Congress any tariffs put in place under a process that invokes national security. The tariffs would be given expedited consideration, and Congress would have 60 days to debate and vote on them.

One possibility under consideration is to attach the legislation to the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass military spending bill that will be debated on the Senate floor later this week and could be put to a vote as early as next week.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday he would not allow the Corker tariff proposal to be brought up as a freestanding bill. But he did not shoot down the idea of attaching it to the defense legislation.

“What I’m in favor of is getting bills passed that we have to do for the country,” McConnell told reporters.

The defense bill will be open for amendments, McConnell said, and “we’ll see what happens as it moves across the floor.”

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