Dear Member of Congress:

On behalf of the millions of taxpayers,
consumers, farmers, and businesses represented by our 40 organizations in all 50 states, we urge your support for the bicameral, bipartisan
“Congressional Trade Authority Act.”
This legislation would
amend the Trade Expansion Act of 1962
to require Congressional approval before the
President adjusts imports – often through tariffs or quotas – that are
determined to impair national security.

Under
this reform, any potential
tariffs to be applied under Section 232 would be submitted to Congress
and taken up within 60 days via an
expedited procedure to ensure timely consideration. The bill would redefine the currently overly broad
“national security” designation for 232 investigations to goods involving military equipment, energy
resources, and critical infrastructure while also transferring investigative authority to the Department of Defense.

A four-year reach-back mechanism would capture
recent trade decisions
and bring them in line with this improved approach. And the bill
would require the International Trade Commission
(ITC) to administer an exclusion
process that would apply to all importers of specific items for future Section
232 actions.

These commonsense reforms would reduce
the misuse of alleged national security threats for costly, protectionist ends
and help more appropriately balance power between the legislative and executive
branches.

Ongoing trade uncertainty and harsh new
tariffs are a serious threat to consumers and the economy that could undermine recent growth. Already, agriculture exports like soy
beans have experienced significant losses. The cost of
automobiles, both those imported and assembled in the U.S., could soar by an added $1,262 to $5,089. Numerous
industries, such as boat and farm implement manufacturers, have also seen tariffs increase
costs, eroding their profitability. This pain promises
to grow worse – and to spread to all corners of the
economy and family budgets.

Congress needs to take urgent action to
stabilize our precarious trade environment. Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the authority to impose tariffs
and regulate foreign commerce. This is an essential power that Congress should use to prevent damaging trade
policies that could hurt our economy, farmers,
American workers, and consumers. We support
this and other efforts to restore Congressional powers over tariffs and other barriers to trade.

We applaud Senators Toomey (R-PA), Warner (D-VA), Sasse (R-NE), and Hassan (D-NH)
along with Representatives Gallagher (R-WI),
Kind (D-WI), LaHood
(R-IL), and Panetta
(D-CA) for their
bipartisan leadership on this important issue. We strongly urge all Members of Congress to cosponsor the
“Congressional Trade Authority Act”
and work toward its swift enactment.

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