During remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) spoke about a bill that would restrict Presidential authority over imposing tariffs.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the important role that Congress plays in
00:06ensuring our economy remains strong and very important for the American people to lower
00:12costs.
00:13That is why today I am introducing legislation by myself and Senator Grassley.
00:19Congress has a duty to ensure that our country remains competitive and leads in the global
00:23marketplace.
00:25American families rely on our economy for goods and to make ends meet, and to provide
00:30shelter.
00:32American manufacturers rely on our economy to maintain resilient supply chains, keep
00:36production lines open, and that means aircraft from Everett, Washington, or cars and trucks
00:43from Detroit, Michigan.
00:45American farmers rely on our economy to keep fields planted.
00:50Washington and northern and central Iowa depend on the cost of fertilizer, seed, and equipment.
00:57Small business owners across the country depend on consumer confidence in our economy so that
01:03they can keep sales and stay afloat.
01:06Sharp increases propose a major threat to that economy.
01:11Inflation and high costs are a threat to stability and prosperity of American businesses of all
01:15size, to our farmers, and to our consumers.
01:19We live now in an interconnected world, a global economy, and advances in technology
01:25and transportation have brought that world closer and closer together.
01:30We have a global economy.
01:34That is why it is so important to have rules-based trading systems that have been in place since
01:39World War II, and it is the bedrock of a global economy.
01:44That is, to have rules.
01:47Rules-based trade is essential to have predictable and stable trade and promoting economic growth
01:53and development and global cooperation.
01:57No doubt, opening up markets has grown the pie, not just for those economies, but for
02:03the U.S. economy.
02:05When you establish clear rules-based mechanisms, you can also resolve trade disputes and encourage
02:11more investment and more trade.
02:15Businesses need this certainty to move forward with deals, to reach new markets and grow.
02:20But now we are seeing a barrage of tariffs on at least 185 countries.
02:27We cannot have arbitrary policies create chaos and uncertainty.
02:32These kinds of chaos and uncertainty kill business investment and make for very challenging
02:39stock market assessments of investments for the future based on predictability.
02:44The current approach, in my opinion, is outside the predictable rules-based system.
02:50It's arguable that the current approach is literally a misconstruction of statutory authorities.
02:58But what we know for sure today, what we know today for sure, is that 95 percent of the
03:05world's consumers are outside of the United States.
03:08That means the global middle class includes almost 4 billion people.
03:14Those are markets for American businesses, for farmers to reach, to grow, and prosper.
03:21According to the World Bank, in the recent decade, trade has lifted 1 billion people
03:26out of poverty.
03:28My colleagues here, who have worked on deals in the past that opened up markets in places
03:33like Chile, Peru, Singapore, the Central America Free Trade Agreement, the update
03:39of the USMCA, all know that this hard work created economic opportunity.
03:46Our trade agreements helped American farmers export $176 billion in agricultural products
03:51last year.
03:53They helped ensure that the United States is the world's largest agricultural exporter
03:57with soybeans and corn leading the way as the top export.
04:03I want to return to trade agreements.
04:05I want to open up more markets.
04:08I want us to have a robust export opportunity for the excellent US manufactured and grown
04:16products.
04:17Our trade agreements have ensured that the US remained the second largest exporter of
04:22manufactured goods in the world, $2.06 trillion in 2024.
04:30And it's clear today the United States must be competing hard to win in the race for emerging
04:36technologies like AI and quantum.
04:39Our foreign adversaries and our competitors are in this global race too.
04:45So that is why economic disruption puts America at risk.
04:51Straining ties with trade alliances also put us at a security risk.
04:57Trade wars have lasting consequences.
05:00Trade wars devastate Americans' working families and small businesses and manufacturers.
05:06Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution gave Congress the explicit authority to impose
05:13duties and regulate commerce given the far-reaching impact to our national economy that I just
05:20mentioned.
05:21As ranking member of the Commerce Committee and my colleague from the Senate Finance Committee,
05:30we both know how much our nation needs to continue to have interstate commerce and to
05:37have foreign commerce.
05:40Since 1930s, Congress has enacted or directed the President to negotiate trade deals, including
05:48authority to negotiate the agreements and impose or adjust tariffs.
05:55But I think these presidents have used this authority correctly by opening up markets,
06:02lowering tariffs, and establishing a rules-based trading system.
06:08The current approach, I believe, is creating uncertainty and certainly raising costs unnecessarily.
06:18Businesses rely on certainty and transparency from a rules-based trading system.
06:23So how has Congress done on these issues?
06:28Well, it is time, I believe, for Congress to reassert ourselves in our constitutional
06:34duties.
06:36Article 1 of the Constitution also gave Congress the power to declare war.
06:42The Founding Fathers wanted to prevent any single individual from unilaterally committing
06:47our nation to war.
06:48The Founding Fathers wanted to ensure that we had a strong check and balance.
06:53I believe the same check and balance needs to exist now as it relates to protecting our
06:59commerce activities and any presidential overreach that is not a rules-based approach.
07:08Congress, in the War Powers Act, decided to reclaim its authority because they thought
07:14a president had overreached.
07:18Senator Grassley and I are trying to do the same thing today by introducing the Trade
07:24Review Act of 2025.
07:28Trade wars, which frequently trigger sharp price increases, foreign retaliation, and
07:37huge shock impacts to our economy, could affect the livelihood of workers, supply chain manufacturers,
07:44and hard-won markets that American exporters have wanted to see continue to be open.
07:51I want to thank Senator Grassley for his leadership over many years for American farmers, for
07:55the people of Iowa, and for our country.
07:58I want to thank him for working with me on the introduction of the Trade Review Act of
08:042025 that ensures that Congress plays its constitutional role in making sure that as
08:11our Founding Fathers attended, we set the duties and regulate foreign commerce.
08:18This important reassertion of Congress's constitutional role is important so we have a strong voice
08:25in trade policy.
08:28This legislation, as I said, modeled after the War Powers Act, says that a president
08:32must notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing or raising tariffs, provide an explanation
08:39of why they are warranted, and an assessment of their likely impact on American businesses
08:44and consumers.
08:46Our legislation, though, protects that constitutional authority by also saying these tariffs should
08:52be reviewed by Congress for approval or disapproval.
08:57And doing so is in the best interest of our country.
09:01Mr. President, I can't tell you how challenging I think competition in a fast-moving, information-aged
09:08global economy is.
09:10We can't afford a trade war that lasts for two or three years, leaving our product off
09:16the shelves.
09:17We must reassert Congress's role over trade policy, ensure that a rule-based trade system
09:22is based on transparency, consistency, and the benefits of the American public.
09:28I thank the President.
09:29I yield the floor.