Bipartisan senators’ bill would require Congress to approve new tariffs

Two senior lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill that would reassert Congress’ powers over U.S. tariffs, a day after President Donald Trump announced a new wide-ranging tariff strategy during his “Liberation Day” speech on Wednesday.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., on Thursday introduced the Trade Review Act of 2025, which would require the president to notify Congress about any new tariffs within 48 hours of imposition. 

The bill also requires that Trump provide an explanation of the rationale along with an analysis of the tariffs’ potential impact on the U.S. economy. Congress would have to approve the new tariffs within 60 days or allow them to expire.

If enacted, the bill would shift certain trade policymaking powers from the executive branch to the Congress. 

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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley during a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30, 2025. ( Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“For too long, Congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch,” Grassley, a Trump ally who’s skeptical of tariffs, said in a statement. 

“Building on my previous efforts as Finance Committee Chairman, I’m joining Senator Cantwell to introduce the bipartisan Trade Review Act of 2025 to reassert Congress’ constitutional role and ensure Congress has a voice in trade policy,” he continued.

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Sen. Maria Cantwell speaks during a news briefing at the U.S. Capitol on July 9, 2024. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Cantwell said in a statement that Trump’s tariffs would hurt sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and technology and have reverberating effects on consumers.

“Ultimately, consumers will pay the price,” Cantwell said in a statement. “It’s time for Congress to take action to counter the president’s trade war.”

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Grassley’s home state of Iowa heavily relies on farm crop exports, while Cantwell’s Washington state is home to many export-heavy companies such as Boeing.

Trump on Thursday compared the tariffs to a medical operation, and said the “patient lived, and is healing.” “The prognosis is that the patient will be far stronger, bigger, better, and more resilient than ever before,” he wrote on Truth Social.

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office on Feb. 3, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Thursday’s bill was introduced after four Republican senators joined Democrats in approving a separate resolution Wednesday that would repeal Trump’s emergency declaration levying tariffs on Canadian imports. Grassley was not one of the Republican defectors. The resolution is likely dead on arrival in the House.