Reform Section 301 to Prevent Future Abuse

Scott Lincicome and Alfredo Carrillo ObregonRecord ‐​highinflationhas reportedly prompted President Biden toconsiderlifting at least some of the tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump on Chinese imports under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. As Cato scholars haverepeatedlywritten, the tariffs have imposed large costs on consumers, producers, and workers, so removing them would be a  sensible policy. It would also be practical, as the law gives President Biden the authority to repeal them with the stroke of a pen. But as desirable as this solution is in the short term, our experience with these unilateral tariffs should make Congress aware of the need to reform the flaws in S ection 301 to prevent another president from abusing this law in the future. In a Policy Analysis released this week, we (along with Inu Manak) analyze the elements of Section 301 that the Trump administration exploited to impose tariffs and restrict trade, and recommend amendments to reduce the possibility of future abuses of this law.Section 301 BackgroundCongress legislated Section 301 as part of the Trade Act of 1974 to grant the executive branch additional powers to investigate and act against “unfair” trade practices by foreign countries. As explained in greater detail in the paper, the statute enables the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to initiate investigations on such practices upon request from concerned domestic parties or at its discretion (following c...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs