Grassley open to legislation making it tougher for Trump to impose tariffs on national security grounds

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) says he’s open to backing legislation that would make it tougher for President Trump to impose tariffs on imports in the name of national security.

“Maybe the definition of national security or maybe the conditions under which national security could be used as an excuse is a little wide,” Grassley told Axios in an interview where he expressed support for bipartisan legislation that would give the Pentagon a bigger role in determining whether imports are a risk to national security. 

{mosads}The legislation would constrain Section 232, which gives the president the authority to impose trade measures to hold back imports if it is determined that the imports are harming national security. 

Trump used Section 232 to justify tariffs on steel and aluminum imports earlier this year. He has also talked about using Section 232 to impose tariffs on imports of foreign automobiles.

The legislation to change Section 232 was offered by Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Doug Jones (D-Ala). Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) have since signed on as co-sponsors.