Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said Tuesday that the Senate will vote on a motion on Wednesday aimed at challenging President Trump’s authority to impose tariffs on imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which permits a president to implement tariffs on “national security grounds.”
“FINALLY, Senate will push back on the President’s abuse of Section 232 to impose tariffs,” Flake tweeted Tuesday evening. “We will vote Wednesday on a ‘Motion to Instruct,’ a first step toward reasserting Congress’s constitutional role on tariffs.”
[New: China vows retaliation after $200B tariff threat from US]
FINALLY, Senate will push back on the President’s abuse of Section 232 to impose tariffs. We will vote Wednesday on a “Motion to Instruct,” a first step toward reasserting Congress’s constitutional role on tariffs.
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) July 11, 2018
Flake told the Huffington Post the vote on the motion to instruct will be related to the energy and water appropriations bill being considered this week. But even if the Senate supports it, it’s a nonbinding motion that won’t change the law.
Flake acknowledged that “follow up” language will be needed later, but said for now, “We’ve just got to build the support.”
Section 232 has been cited by the administration to defend 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports.
The move comes just as the White House unveiled a list of $200 billion worth of products from China that it could hit with a 10 percent duty. Those tariffs, however, would be imposed under a separate law aimed at pushing U.S. trading partners to respect U.S. intellectual property rights.
