US lawmakers set bill seeking to control Trump on tariffs: key lawmaker

A group of Republican and Democratic U.S. senators plan to introduce as soon as Tuesday legislation that would force President Donald Trump, or any U.S. president, to obtain congressional approval before imposing tariffs on national security grounds, a senior senator said on Tuesday.

Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters legislation would be introduced on Tuesday or Wednesday that would pare back the president’s authority under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

The measure came after Trump decided last month to open a trade investigation into whether auto imports had damaged the U.S. auto industry, which could lead to tariffs of up to 25 percent on “national security grounds.”

Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by James Dalgleish