U.S. Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill To Limit President’s Section 232 Powers

On August 5, U.S. Reps. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), and Don Beyer (D-Va.) reintroduced the Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act, bipartisan legislation that would require the U.S. president to submit to Congress any proposal to adjust imports in the interest of national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

Please note: MSCI has not taken a position on this legislation, and does not plan to do so.

As a reminder, MSCI consistently has argued that global overcapacity and other unfair trading practices, particularly by China, have harmed the U.S. steel and aluminum markets. To address this circumvention, in 2017 MSCI advised federal officials to provide relief for producers up and down the supply chain and to consider the consequences of any new trade policy, including: the economic impact of global overcapacity on the entire domestic metals supply chain; transition times and implementation rules to any new policy; availability of domestic metals to meet U.S. national security needs, as well as general industrial and consumer demand; and trade flows under current free trade agreements, including the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA).

MSCI also asked that Canada and Mexico be excluded from any trade penalties. Click here to review all of MSCI’s advocacy on Section 232 tariffs.

Under the bill that was reintroduced last week, members of Congress would have a 60-day period following submission of a Section 232 order to review the president’s proposal. A joint resolution to approve the proposal would qualify for expedited consideration in both chambers. The requirement would apply to all future Section 232 actions and to those taken within the last four years, including the Trump-era penalties on steel and aluminum.

With limited time left in the 117th Congress, it is unlikely lawmakers will have time to review, much less vote on, this bill.