Congress Approves New Tariff Authority

The House of Representatives approved Sept. 17 legislation (H.R. 5334) that grants the president additional authority to impose import tariffs. The Senate passed the bill Aug. 7, and President Trump is expected to sign it into law shortly.

The bill requires the president to (1) increase tariff rates on virtually all imports from Russia to as much as 500 percent and (2) impose up to 100 percent tariffs on goods imported from (a) countries that knowingly made new purchases of Russian oil or gas on or after the date that is 30 days after the bill’s enactment, (b) the world’s top five purchasers of Russian oil or gas (with an exception for countries importing less than 15 percent of Russia’s oil and gas exports and taking significant steps to reduce those imports), or (c) the top five facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion.

These tariffs will stack on top of applicable antidumping and countervailing duties as well as Section 122, 201, 232, or 301 tariffs.

The above actions must be taken within 30 days of the bill’s enactment. However, the president may waive the tariffs if doing so is deemed to be in the national interest.

Also effective 30 days after enactment, the bill prohibits the export, re-export, or in-country transfer to or in Russia of any energy product produced in the U.S.