By Siobhan Hughes and Vivian Salama
WASHINGTON -- With the Trump administration announcing a new
round of tariffs on China, the Senate took a symbolic step
Wednesday toward asserting its power over levies that President
Donald Trump has already imposed.
The vote was viewed as a gauge of whether the GOP-controlled
chamber had the appetite to try to rein in the party's leader.
Senators voted Wednesday, 88-11, to instruct the lawmakers
appointed to iron out differences with the House over a spending
bill to also insert a provision giving a role to Congress when the
executive branch decides to impose tariffs on the basis of
national-security concerns. The measure doesn't offer any specifics
about that role.
The nonbinding vote marked the first time the Senate went on the
record over tariffs that have hit aluminum and steelmakers in
Canada, Mexico and the European Union and potentially threaten
overseas auto makers as well.
"We have to rein in an abuse of presidential authority and to
restore Congress's constitutional authority in this regard," said
Sen. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.), who, along with Sen. Bob Corker (R.,
Tenn.), was one of the authors of the measure.
The vote also exposed the turmoil among congressional
Republicans over the Trump administration's trade agenda.
Wednesday's vote was held the day after the U.S. announced planned
tariffs of 10% on another $200 billion in Chinese goods, which the
Trump administration announced Tuesday and which were invoked based
on a different authorization.
Supporters expect that the vote Wednesday will lay the
groundwork for stronger future action. Republican leaders such as
Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) have said that Mr. Corker will receive
a vote on a measure with more teeth to give Congress a say over
national-security tariffs. Among the senators who plan to offer
their own approaches is Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio).
"We got a strong vote for us to play a role," Mr. Corker said.
"Now, there will be competing bills coming out to focus on how we
deal with this, but I think there's tremendous interest in dealing
with this issue."
In the meantime, Republicans competing for Senate seats this
November were reluctant to be too critical of Mr. Trump's planned
new tariffs on China.
"Let's face it, China is not dealing fairly with us in trade,"
said Rep. Jim Renacci (R., Ohio), who is hoping to capture the seat
held by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio), who generally has supported
Mr. Trump on his trade agenda. "I'm not too comfortable with all
the other ramifications, but at this point in time, I realize that
he is in negotiations... I want to give him his opportunity to
negotiate to get the best deal for American workers and then let's
see where we end up in a couple months."
Backers of the measure had earlier attempted to wedge into
must-pass defense and farm bills a provision that would have
limited Mr. Trump's power to use the 1962 Trade Expansion Act to
impose tariffs based on national-security concerns.
But they were blocked by Republican leaders, then by Mr. Brown,
and their efforts face an uncertain future given that many
Republican leaders are reluctant to risk stirring Mr. Trump's
wrath. The instructions to conferees adopted Wednesday don't have
the weight of legislation.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R., Utah), whose
panel oversees trade issues, voted yes on Wednesday but has
expressed reservations about legislation that would tie the
president's hands more directly.
"They ought to give the president a chance," he said, adding
that "we'll have to see" whether he would allow a committee vote on
Mr. Corker's original legislation. "I understand what he feels and
I have some feelings that way myself that you just can't let
presidents run off and do everything by themselves."
Similar tensions are building in the House. On Wednesday, a
bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced legislation to
require the Trump administration to obtain congressional approval
before imposing national-security tariffs. Similar to Mr. Corker's
bill, the measure would also be retroactive and cover
national-security tariffs imposed in the prior two years.
The White House didn't respond to a request for comment on
Wednesday's Senate vote.
Mr. Trump has privately expressed frustration over Congress's
ability to limit or override the power of the White House on
national-security matters. He has said it has complicated efforts
to exert what he deems as necessary pressure on U.S. allies --
particularly those in Europe. Three people familiar with the
details of these conversations said the president complained last
year when Congress urged him to back a tough new sanctions bill
that included proposed measures targeting Russia.
The president eventually signed the Russia bill but said, "As
president, I can make far better deals with foreign countries than
Congress."
The officials said Mr. Trump has renewed his anger over
congressional oversight in recent weeks amid a bipartisan effort to
push back on the president's aggressive trade measures. The
officials said Mr. Trump has told lawmakers in private that they
have no right to enforce any such regulation, and that doing so
would inhibit his ability to make deals that benefit the American
people.
Mr. Corker Wednesday said the president has indicated that he is
unhappy with his persistence. "He's conveying it to many members,"
Mr. Corker said, noting that 11 Republicans who support free trade
voted against his measure. Speaking of the White House, he said
that "it's my understanding that they were very, very upset about
what happened today.."
Republicans are nevertheless divided over how to proceed. Some
Republicans have concluded that they must write legislation to
restrict Mr. Trump. Others are reluctant to undercut his
presidential authority.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) encapsulated the dilemma.
"I don't want to hamstring the president's negotiating tactics,
but I have long said I don't think tariffs are the way to go," Mr.
Ryan said Wednesday. "There are legitimate, absolutely legitimate
unfair trade practices, particularly by China that we and our
allies should be confronting."
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R., Texas)
said the House may take up legislation on the president's
national-security tariffs in the long term. For now, he said that
the plan was to wait and see how Mr. Trump's trade policy
worked.
"Right now the focus, though, is how we buy time for the
president's strategy to work against China and critical to that is
lifting the pain off our local farmers and manufacturers," he
said.
--Kristina Peterson and Andrew Duehren contributed to this
article.
Write to Siobhan Hughes at siobhan.hughes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 11, 2018 19:25 ET (23:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.