Congress has plenty of other legislation it should prioritize instead.
Some Members of Congress (and a certain governor) are misguidedly attempting to weaken one of America’s most powerful trade enforcement tools: tariffs.
The Trade Review Act of 2025 would make tariffs imposed under U.S. trade laws, including Sections 201, 232 and 301, contingent on passage of a joint resolution of approval in Congress within 60 days. Additionally, the bill would create an expedited process to immediately terminate tariff actions with a Congressional resolution of disapproval.
The Trade Review Act was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in March and in the House by Reps. Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) in April.
The bill would seriously undermine America’s ability to quickly respond to national security vulnerabilities.
For decades, a surging trade deficit with other nations has hollowed out America’s manufacturing base and broken our nation’s domestic supply chains. This has left the United States more dependent than ever on foreign adversaries like China for critical goods, including pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding and autos, at a time of increasing geopolitical instability.
But the consequences of America’s trade imbalances not only compromise our defense readiness. Communities throughout the country have been decimated by offshoring. According to the White House, the U.S. lost more than 5 million family-supporting manufacturing jobs from 1997 to 2024, with Black workers especially hard hit.
Congress simply wasn’t designed to have the nimbleness needed to quickly respond to the national security threats that tariffs counter. Though tariffs have long been a part of America’s trade enforcement, it is increasingly vital in resetting the trade imbalances that have plagued the United States for decades.
“Our existing trade tools were created by Congress to address unfair practices, violations of trade agreements, non-tariff trade barriers, and even national security concerns,” the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) wrote to Members of Congress in a April 16 letter urging lawmakers to oppose the Trade Review Act of 2025. “In doing so, Congress delegated authorities to the executive branch knowing full well that the legislative process is not well suited to reacting to such serious concerns with agility and speed.”
AAM goes on to caution that, if passed, the Trade Review Act would neuter tariffs and discourage necessary trade action:
“The Trade Review Act, however, would allow the outcome of a trade or national security action involving tariffs to hang in the balance as foreign governments and interests exert their influence over the outcome. The unnecessary and burdensome process created by this bill effectively renders our existing trade tools inaccessible by deterring their use and injecting significant uncertainty and doubt into their approval. In short, the Trade Review Act tilts the scales against trade enforcement and in favor of maintaining the status quo of surging trade deficits and a deteriorating industrial base.”
Instead of undermining one of America’s most powerful trade tools, Congress should focus its efforts on supporting America’s workers and manufacturing base. Here’s what they should bump to the top of their trade agendas:
1. Pass the Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0: Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0 (LTPFA 2.0) is a critical means of modernizing America’s trade enforcement tools, updating 2015’s trade remedy law Leveling the Playing Field Act. LTPFA 2.0 would establish “successive investigations,” making it easier for petitioners to bring new trade cases when repeat offenders move production to another country. Such expedited procedures are increasingly important amid escalating tariff circumvention. Join us in telling Congress to support the LTPFA 2.0!
2. Revoke or Adjust China’s PNTR Status: China has enjoyed the trade privileges that come with the Permanent Normal Trade Relations status that Congress granted it in 2000 with the hope that Beijing would liberalize and abide by market principles. That dream has not come to fruition. Rather, China has exploited its access to the U.S. market while unfairly advantaging its own industries.
3. Renew Trade Adjustment Assistance: Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) recently urged President Trump to strengthen and reauthorize the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) that Congress allowed to expire in July 2022. For nearly 50 years, the program had provided job training and other services to workers who suffered job loss due to offshoring or foreign competition. That safety net has been ripped from beneath America’s hardworking men and women. It’s past time we restore it.