Bill > HR1903

This bill modifies the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose new limitations on the President's authority to adjust imports that potentially threaten national security. The bill narrows the definition of "national security" to specifically mean protection from foreign aggression, excluding broader economic considerations. It shifts primary responsibility for trade security investigations from the Secretary of Commerce to the Secretary of Defense and introduces a new Congressional approval process for import adjustment actions. Under the new framework, the President must submit a report to Congress within 15 days of determining a potential national security threat, and the proposed action will only take effect if Congress passes a specific joint resolution of approval within 60 calendar days. The bill also establishes a formal exclusion process administered by the United States International Trade Commission, which will evaluate requests to exempt specific articles from import restrictions based on criteria such as domestic production capabilities, potential economic harm, and consumer impacts. Additionally, the bill includes a sunset provision that limits any import adjustment action to a maximum of three years and requires the International Trade Commission to submit a report assessing the action's economic effects within 18 months. The legislation applies retroactively to actions taken up to six years before its enactment and provides detailed transition rules for existing import adjustment actions.

Budget and Finance

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1903/all-info