YourVoice.Now Summary
Transparency & AccountabilityNew tariffs would need a vote in Congress first — full import bans would not.
Transparency & Accountability
Right now the President can put tariffs in place alone, using trade laws and emergency powers. Under this change, Congress would have to pass a law approving each one. Full bans on a country's goods would stay the President's call.
The President would have to send Congress a proposal saying why the tariff is needed. No such step is required today.
More about this bill
New taxes on goods brought in from other countries would need a vote in Congress first. Today the President can set these taxes, called tariffs, without asking Congress at all. Under this change, the President would send Congress a written reason for the tariff. Congress would then have to pass a law approving it. The rule would reach almost every trade law, including ones written for wars and national emergencies. One power would stay with the President alone: blocking all goods, or one kind of good, from a country. Day to day, you would not notice much until a new tariff came up. Then the choice would rest with your members of Congress.
Congressional Summary
This bill requires the President to receive congressional approval in order to impose a duty (i.e., tariff) on articles imported into the United States.Specifically, the President may impose a duty on an article imported into the United States only if (1) the President submits to Congress a proposal to impose the duty that includes a rationale for imposing the duty, and (2) a joint resolution of approval is enacted into law.The bill applies to specified statutory authorities, such as the Tariff Act of 1930 and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and other provisions of law (e.g., trade agreements).Therefore, for example, the bill requires the President to receive congressional approval before imposing tariffs under IEEPA. (IEEPA provides the President with broad authority to regulate various economic transactions following a declaration of a national emergency. In 2025, President Donald J. Trump invoked IEEPA to impose tariffs on imports from almost all U.S. trading partners. Several lawsuits challenging the President's legal authority to impose tariffs under IEEPA are ongoing.)
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Action Date
- Date Added
- 2026-04-02
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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