Automotive industry organizations are lending support to a measure designed to reform the tariff process under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and increase congressional oversight.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) said his Trade Security Act holds countries that violate U.S. trade laws accountable in a manner that protects American jobs and strengthens the nation’s economy.
The bill would require the Department of Defense, rather than the Department of Commerce, to justify the national security basis for new Section 232 tariffs and addresses concerns that misuse of law will harm jobs and the economy and likely result in a loss of this trade remedy tool.
“[While] it is essential that the President maintain the authority to invoke any necessary measures to protect our national interests, recent actions to propose costly tariffs on imported autos and auto parts, in the name of national security, underscore the need for Congressional oversight,” Mitch Bainwol, president and CEO of the Auto Alliance, said. “Raising auto tariffs would undermine our nation’s economic security and thereby, our national security. By shifting the investigative authority to the Department of Defense and giving Congress the ability to review any actions, this balanced approach upholds key national security interests while providing key safeguards.”
Cody Lusk, president and CEO of the American International Automobile Dealers Association, said the legislation prevents the misuse of Section 232 tariffs as a negotiating tactic.
“Small businesses, like dealerships, are not national security threats, treating them as such threatens hundreds of thousands of American jobs, billions of dollars in auto sales and repairs and auto investment here in the U.S.,” he said.