HR-2665-119
Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Sponsored by Don Bacon (R-NE)
What it does
This bill would require the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing or increasing any tariff on imported goods. The notification would have to include the rationale for the tariff and an assessment of its potential impact on U.S. businesses and consumers. Any new or increased tariff would automatically expire after 60 days unless Congress passes a joint resolution of approval; Congress could also end a tariff before 60 days by passing a joint resolution of disapproval.
Who benefits
U.S. importers and businesses that rely on imported goods or materials, who would gain more predictability and a formal check on sudden tariff changes. Consumers who purchase imported goods or products made with imported components. Domestic industries that use imported inputs (e.g., manufacturers, retailers, agriculture). Trading partner countries whose exports to the U.S. would face a more structured and time-limited tariff process. Members of Congress seeking a greater role in trade policy. Small businesses with less capacity to absorb sudden cost increases from unilateral tariff actions.
Who is hurt
The President and the executive branch would lose unilateral, open-ended authority to impose tariffs. Domestic industries that benefit from protective tariffs — such as steel, aluminum, and certain agricultural sectors — could face faster removal of those protections if Congress disapproves. Workers in import-competing industries who rely on tariffs for job protection may face greater uncertainty. Administrations seeking to use tariffs as rapid diplomatic leverage in ongoing trade negotiations could find their negotiating position weakened by the 60-day clock.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that the Constitution grants Congress — not the President — the power to regulate foreign commerce and set tariff rates under Article I, Section 8, and that decades of broad delegations to the executive have effectively transferred that power without adequate oversight. They contend that recent unilateral tariff actions affecting hundreds of billions of dollars in trade have imposed significant costs on U.S. businesses and consumers with no congressional input, and that a 60-day review window restores the constitutional balance without eliminating the President's ability to act quickly in a genuine emergency.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that modern trade negotiations and economic diplomacy require speed and flexibility that a mandatory 60-day congressional approval process would undermine, potentially signaling to trading partners that U.S. tariff commitments are inherently temporary and subject to reversal. They contend that Congress has repeatedly and deliberately delegated tariff authority to the President through statutes like Section 232 and Section 301 precisely because trade policy requires executive agility, and that adding a joint resolution requirement — subject to filibuster, procedural delays, and political gridlock — could leave critical trade tools in legal limbo.
Constitutional context
The Foreign Commerce Clause (Art. I, §8, cl. 3) grants Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, including setting tariffs. Congress has historically delegated broad tariff authority to the President through statutes such as the Trade Expansion Act and the Trade Act of 1974. This bill would reassert congressional control over that delegated authority. The major questions doctrine, reinforced post-Loper Bright (2024), could also bear on whether existing broad delegations of tariff power to the executive remain valid without clearer congressional authorization.
Checks and balances
Congress would gain a formal approval and disapproval mechanism over presidential tariffs, directly limiting executive branch authority; the President retains the ability to impose tariffs immediately but only for up to 60 days without congressional endorsement.
Historical precedent
The Trade Act of 1974 established congressional notification and consultation requirements for trade agreements, and the War Powers Resolution (1973) used a similar 60-day clock mechanism to check unilateral presidential military action — though neither directly parallels this bill's joint resolution approval structure for tariffs.