'Act quickly': Expert says there’s still time for Congress to curb Trump’s tariff powers

President-elect Donald Trump has made it clear that he plans to impose broad tariffs on imports from some of the United States' largest trade partners. But one expert says Congress has the ability to limit his ability to raise import duties before the new Congress is sworn in on January 3.

In a recent op-ed for the Hill, Inu Manak — a fellow for trade policy at the Council on Foreign Relations — argued that Trump's proposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10% on China would be harmful for both American consumers and businesses. She pointed out that the American car manufacturing industry in particular would be one of the hardest hit sectors of the economy given how automakers depend on parts imported from Canada and Mexico that can cross international boundaries multiple times before a vehicle hits the showroom.

"Imposing a tariff on these products means charging a tax every single time a part crosses the border," Manak wrote. "That would quickly add up."

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Manak also observed that the new tariff proposals fly in the face of the U.S., Mexico and Canada (USMCA) agreement that Trump brokered during his first term in office, which he called "the largest, most significant, modern, and balanced trade agreement in history." She opined that Trump going back on the USMCA's provisions can make the U.S. seem like an unreliable trade partner, discouraging other countries from doing business with the United States.

"[Trump] is either now claiming that he negotiated a bad deal, or that our trading partners cannot be assured of the commitments the U.S. makes in international agreements," she wrote. "All this raises the question of why any trading partner would ever bother to negotiate a trade accord with the U.S. ever again."

Democrats still hold a Senate majority during Congress' lame duck session, which ends in early January. Manak called for lawmakers to pass the Prevent Tariff Abuse Act, authored by Reps. Susan DelBene (D-Wash.) and Don Beyer (D-Va.), which curtails the president's ability to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs. But she added that Congress could pass even bolder action if they wish.

"That is a good start, but there’s still more that Congress can do," Manak wrote. "Trade analysts have laid out a much broader list of tariff authorities that could be abused by Trump and Congress should act quickly to repeal or reform them."

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Click here to read Manak's op-ed in the Hill.