Sponsors (16)
The bill removes presidential authority to impose temporary import surcharges/quotas, which lowers the risk of sudden trade restrictions and can reduce prices for consumers and businesses, but it also removes a fast policy tool that could be used to respond to acute trade or balance-of-payments crises and to strengthen negotiating leverage.
Importers, small businesses, and U.S. consumers face lower and more predictable import costs because the President can no longer impose temporary surcharges or quotas of up to 15% under section 122.
Businesses that rely on imported inputs (e.g., small manufacturers, financial institutions) face a reduced risk of sudden trade restrictions that could disrupt supply chains because the temporary surcharge/quota authority is removed.
Federal agencies and Congress get clearer statutory language and simpler administration of trade statutes by removing an obsolete cross-reference.
Taxpayers and policymakers lose a rapid executive tool to address balance-of-payments crises or severe currency/trade shocks because the President can no longer impose temporary surcharges or quotas under section 122.
Import-competing businesses and U.S. trade negotiators may face reduced leverage in negotiations because the administration cannot use temporary import measures as a bargaining chip.
Federal agencies and affected businesses may have fewer immediate policy options during sudden import surges, potentially forcing slower or more politically difficult responses (for example, seeking new legislation).
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Removes the President’s statutory authority to impose temporary balance-of-payments import surcharges or quotas under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Official title: Repeal section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 relating to balance-of-payments authority.
Introduced March 11, 2026 by Timothy Michael Kaine · Last progress March 11, 2026
Repeals the President’s statutory balance-of-payments trade authority under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, removing the President’s power to impose temporary import surcharges (up to 15% ad valorem), quotas, or both, and eliminating related cross-references in the U.S. Code. The bill narrows existing statutory reservation language by removing references to the repealed authority, thereby limiting a previously available executive tool for addressing balance-of-payments problems and related temporary import measures.