|
||
|
TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Oct25/21) Geneva, 30 Oct (D. Ravi Kanth) — The United States Senate on 28 October struck a significant blow against the Trump administration’s controversial 50% tariff on Brazilian goods. While largely symbolic, the move challenges US President Donald Trump’s broad use of national emergency powers to impose tariffs, according to people familiar with the matter. The Senate approved the legislation (S.J.Res.81), with five Republicans crossing party lines to side with the Democrats: Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Rand Paul (Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Thom Tillis (N. C.), and former Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), as reported by the Washington Trade Daily (WTD) on 29 October. The Senate’s decision to confront President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs comes just a week before the US Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on whether the lower courts were correct in ruling that the IEEPA does not grant a President that authority. The legislation would terminate President Trump’s 30 July emergency declaration and eliminate the resulting tariffs on Brazilian imports. The punitive tariffs on Brazil, which took effect on 6 August, were imposed after President Trump expressed anger that his ally, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, was facing trial in a Brazilian court on charges of plotting a coup. Even while using a national security declaration, President Trump made clear his frustration with the legal proceedings against Bolsonaro. The US Senate vote was 52 in favour and 48 against. It followed a tense, closed-door luncheon where Vice President JD Vance, who had attended to urge Republican unity on trade, faced a barrage of complaints from farm-state lawmakers. They were upset over new US administration proposals to quadruple beef imports from Argentina, a plan they said was rattling cattle producers. Senator Rand Paul, a co-sponsor of the Brazilian measure, argued that the US President was overstepping his authority by claiming the “unilateral right to levy import taxes” based on a “contrived emergency.” He told reporters, “It’s a very high bar until they’ll vote in opposition to the president.” Senators supporting the measure were vocal in their criticism. “President Trump’s tariffs on Brazilian goods, which he imposed in an attempt to stop Brazil’s prosecution of one of his friends, are outrageous,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). “Prices for all kinds of everyday goods – including coffee, much of which is imported from Brazil – are climbing. We must stop Trump from starting these incompetent and chaotic trade wars that are weakening our economy.” “The President of the United States does not have the authority under IEEPA to unilaterally impose tariffs. Trade policy belongs to Congress, not the White House,” Sen. Paul commented. Opponents of the resolution urged senators to vote against it. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) called it counterproductive while President Trump is actively negotiating trade deals. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal on 29 October, the measure faces an uphill battle in the GOP- controlled House, and President Trump could veto any resolution that reaches his desk – making the Senate vote largely symbolic. This mirrors a vote in April, when the Senate moved to overturn President Trump’s tariffs on Canada, with a similar group of Republicans – McConnell, Paul, Collins, and Murkowski – joining the Democrats. The WTD also reported that the Democratic Party intends to bring up additional measures this week to terminate the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canada and his reciprocal tariffs on nearly 100 countries. Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on 27 October said that he remains confident that the two countries will reach a trade deal soon. While President Trump has signalled his openness to a deal after meeting with President Lula, he has so far not relented on any duties or tariff investigations. +
|
||
