Wyden to USTR: Congress Must Approve Binding Trade Deals
One Week Before Trump’s Deadline for Scores of Trade Deals, Wyden Reminds US Trade Representative That Congress Has the Constitutional Power to Regulate Tariffs and Trade
Washington, D.C. – One week before Donald Trump’s deadline to strike deals with scores of countries subject to massive global tariffs, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., reiterated that any binding trade deal must come before Congress for approval, as required by the Constitution, in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer today. [LINK]
“The Constitution provides Congress with sole authority ‘to lay and collect . . . duties’ and ‘to regulate commerce with foreign nations’ . . .” Wyden wrote. He noted that bipartisan legislation passed unanimously in the last Congress stated that “‘[t]he President lacks the authority to enter into binding trade agreements absent approval from Congress.’”
Wyden’s letter comes after Greer refused to commit to submit new trade deals for Congressional approval, in clear violation of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.
“I urge you to work with Congress on your efforts to negotiate and conclude trade deals,” Wyden wrote. “The process for approving and implementing any such agreements must respect Congress’s constitutional authority over trade and power to write U.S. law.”
Legal experts agree that executive branch efforts to conclude binding trade agreements without Congressional approval are legally dubious.
“The executive branch’s justifications for entering into these so-called ‘trade executive agreements’ have been weak and legally insufficient in recent administrations,” said Kathleen Claussen, Professor of Law at Georgetown. “The Constitution is clear: Article I assigns foreign commerce power to Congress. The executive branch does not have independent authority to enter into trade agreements that create binding commitments for the United States.”
Wyden pointed out that in 2022, 21 bipartisan senators, including current Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, demanded Congressional approval of binding trade deals, including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) that was being negotiated by the Biden Administration’s Trade Representative.
“There is no question that comprehensive free trade agreements that include reciprocal tariff reductions and dispute resolution mechanisms must be approved and implemented by Congress,” the members wrote in 2022. “However, there appears to be a misunderstanding as to whether an agreement like IPEF, which aims to regulate foreign commerce and reshape international trade flows, requires similar approval. It does.”
That letter was signed by 13 Republicans, including current Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. The other Republican signers who are still in office were: U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, John Cornyn, R-Texas, Tim Scott, R-S.C., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Todd Young, R-Ind., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo.
The full letter is available here.
A web version of this release is here.
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