Legislation—endorsed by U.S. Chamber and Business Roundtable—helps prevent harmful trade wars
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema joined Republican Senator Rob Portman (Ohio) and a bipartisan group of Senators to introduce the Trade Security Act, which helps prevent unnecessary trade wars that hurt Arizona jobs.
The Senators’ bipartisan bill—endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable—makes commonsense reforms to ensure that any tariffs implemented in the interest of national security are justified by the Department of Defense and overseen by Congress.
“Our bipartisan legislation ensures the president’s authority to issue tariffs is directly related to national security concerns. This plan will help prevent unnecessary trade wars that hurt Arizona’s economy and threaten our international relationships,” said Sinema.
“While it is important to address national security threats, Congress has a critical role under the Constitution to protect U.S. workers and businesses from the harm of overbroad unilateral restrictions on free and fair trade. Business Roundtable will continue to work with policymakers on trade policies that will boost U.S. competitiveness,” said Business Roundtable.
Specifically, the bill splits existing presidential authority to levy taxes into an investigation phase (led by the Department of Defense) and a remedy phase (led by the Department of Commerce). Splitting these responsibilities, while guaranteeing the two departments communicate at all stages of the process, plays to each department’s strengths to ensure that the statute is used for genuine national security purposes.
The bill also requires the Department of Defense—instead of the Department of Commerce—to justify the national security basis for new tariffs levied by the president and to make the determination about the national security threat posed by imports of certain products.