Rep. Pete Stauber co-introduced the Reciprocal Trade Act, which aims to give the executive branch better tools and more leverage to negotiate fairer trade deals that help American workers, according to a news release by Stauber's office.
This legislation was also introduced by Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis.
"I support free, but also fair trade. The unfair trade policies of other countries have gone unchecked for decades, and America's farmers, manufacturers and companies are paying the price," Stauber stated in the release. "The unfortunate result of these one-sided trade relationships has been the loss of millions of American jobs, the exodus of thousands of American companies overseas, and failure to sell American products in the global market. American workers can compete with anyone in the world so long as there is a level and fair playing field, and this bill will give the president the ability to bring other countries to the table to end unfair trade practices that have been disadvantaging American workers for decades."
The Reciprocal Trade Act would give the president, after notification to, and consultation with Congress, the ability to negotiate and enter into agreements that obligate foreign countries to lower their trade barriers; and impose reciprocal tariffs on such countries that refuse to lower their tariff and non-tariff barriers.
Currently, the president has a very limited ability to address foreign tariffs and nontariff barriers in an individual, specifically targeted manner. The Reciprocal Trade Act would allow the president to only go after foreign countries with unfair, non-reciprocal tariffs on a case-by-case basis.
