• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Question about proposed tarifs

B

bearpoker

aspiring cat lady
DP Veteran
Joined
May 12, 2017
Messages
17,829
Reaction score
10,503
Location
Tennessee
Gender
Female
Political Leaning
Liberal
Since congress has authority over trade, can the president impose tariffs unilaterally or does he need congress to pass a bill? If he does need congress, do you think Republicans will go along with him.
 
bearpoker said:
Since congress has authority over trade, can the president impose tariffs unilaterally or does he need congress to pass a bill? If he does need congress, do you think Republicans will go along with him.
Click to expand...

I think that congress has passed trade laws which allow imposing tariffs. These laws contain trigger conditions which the executive can assert were met and thus impose tariffs based on the existing trade laws. They act much like the dangerous drug laws do - the congress establishes the dangerous drug conditions and the executive fills in which particular drugs are deemed to fit those conditions.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
I think that congress has passed trade laws which allow imposing tariffs. These laws contain trigger conditions which the executive can assert were met and thus impose tariffs based on the existing trade laws. They act much like the dangerous drug laws do - the congress establishes the dangerous drug conditions and the executive fills in which particular drugs are deemed to fit those conditions.
Click to expand...

see sections 232 of the 1962 law and 301 of the 1974 trade law. Just google it and it tells you what the President can do.
 
haymarket said:
see sections 232 of the 1962 law and 301 of the 1974 trade law. Just google it and it tells you what the President can do.
Click to expand...

I looked at the sections of the laws you cited. The president can impose retaliatory tariffs in response to specific unfair trade policies of other nations. Has the president cited any such policies or is it just because steel producing countries are being mean to us.
 
bearpoker said:
I looked at the sections of the laws you cited. The president can impose retaliatory tariffs in response to specific unfair trade policies of other nations. Has the president cited any such policies or is it just because steel producing countries are being mean to us.
Click to expand...

Good question. We will have to wait and see if he even is still supporting his initial ideas - let alone his legal rationalization.
 
Here is the current list of 12,000 Tariffs.

United States International Trade Commission

LINK
 
bearpoker said:
Since congress has authority over trade, can the president impose tariffs unilaterally or does he need congress to pass a bill? If he does need congress, do you think Republicans will go along with him.
Click to expand...

Nixon slapped a 10 percent surcharge on German and Japan imports back in 1971.
Both were manipulating their currency to gain a unfair advantage over the US

Germany agreed to revalue their currency but Japan refused.

So yea, he can and knowing Trump he probably will.
Presidents both Republican and Democrat have promised to address this issue, but wimp out as our trade deficit continues to grow
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom