Trade Bill Would Codify Baseline Tariff, Impose New Rates on Chinese Goods

As the Trump administration continues to announce new tariffs on a range of goods and materials — most recently foreign lumber and heavy-duty trucks — a new bill in Congress would set a permanent 10 percent tariff on all imports, while layering steep additional fees on Chinese goods.

The Secure Trade Act (H.R. 4978) would impose a 10 percent baseline tariff on all goods entering the United States, essentially codifying the baseline tariffs announced by the White House earlier this year. The 10 percent rate would stack with any other tariffs on various types of imports, but it would also allow the president to reduce the baseline tariff for specific items if such a reduction is determined to be in the national interest.

While all imports would now be subject to the baseline tariff, goods from China would have additional fees. The bill would establish a minimum 35 percent tariff on nonstrategic goods from the United States’ third-largest trading partner and a 100 percent tariff on strategic goods. Both tariffs would be phased in over a five-year period.

Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) introduced the bill on Aug. 15, and it has since been referred to the House Ways and Means, Financial Services, Foreign Affairs, and Energy and Commerce committees for further consideration.

The bill’s introduction comes as the legality of the Trump administration’s trade policies remains in limbo. In late August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the president illegally used the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act as the basis for most of the administration's tariff actions. The Justice Department quickly appealed that decision, and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments on two tariff-related cases in the first week of November.