Sponsors (16)
The bill streamlines and clarifies the Trade Act by removing an outdated provision, but that simplification narrows statutory tools for addressing trade imbalances and may increase regulatory uncertainty for businesses that import or export.
Taxpayers, small-business owners, financial institutions, and federal agencies see the Trade Act simplified because the bill removes an outdated statutory trade authority and clarifies internal references, reducing legal ambiguity for users of the statute.
Taxpayers and small-business owners lose a statutory tool to impose tariffs or import restrictions to address balance-of-payments or trade-imbalance issues, narrowing future congressional policy options.
Importers, exporters, small businesses, and financial institutions face greater uncertainty because trade responses may shift from explicit statutory authority to executive or regulatory mechanisms.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 11, 2026 by Timothy Michael Kaine · Last progress March 11, 2026
Repeals the federal "balance-of-payments" trade authority in the Trade Act of 1974 and updates internal statutory references and the Act’s table of contents to reflect that repeal. It also sets the Act’s short title for citation and does not create programs, authorize spending, or impose new obligations.