Pass a Reciprocal Trade Act letting the President mirror foreign tariffs
What the document says“President Trump urged Congress in his 2019 State of the Union address to pass the United States Reciprocal Trade Act (USRTA).”
Under the proposed act the President could bring any trading partner applying higher non-reciprocal tariffs to the negotiating table and, if it refused to lower them to American levels, raise American tariffs to match. The essay records that its sponsor said the purpose was not to raise tariffs but to give the President a targeted tool to force other countries to lower theirs, and cites a poll finding 80 percent support.
What the document actually says“President Trump urged Congress in his 2019 State of the Union address to pass the United States Reciprocal Trade Act (USRTA).”
One bill would let the president match another country's tariffs. This essay wants it passed.
Some countries charge more on American goods than America charges on theirs. This bill would let the president match their rate. The idea is to make them lower theirs.
This chapter contains the opposing case. 'The Case for Free Trade', by Kent Lassman, argues the reverse: that tariffs have backfired, that trade policy is the wrong tool for industrial goals, and that the next Administration should ignore what it calls populist ideologues seeking protection. Neither essay is presented as the chapter's conclusion.
Regulating Imports With a Reciprocal Tariff To Rectify Trade Practices That Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits
2025-04-02 · 90 FR 15041
Same subject, different instrument. The first essay asked Congress to pass the United States Reciprocal Trade Act, giving the President authority to mirror a partner's tariffs after negotiation. This order proceeds instead by declaring a national emergency under existing authority, without the statute the essay asked Congress to enact.