Even the staunchest alliances have their breaking point.
After a whirlwind of 10 weeks of executive orders and capricious outbursts against our economic and military allies, it seems some of the President’s allies in Congress have finally reached their limit.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump declared April 2, 2025, Liberation Day. He announced a deluge of “reciprocal” tariffs for nearly every country on earth (including countries without any people or governments to place tariffs against the U.S.).
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Trump positioned himself as a reluctant and merciful aggressor in this trade war.
“We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us, so the tariffs will be not a full reciprocal,” Trump said Wednesday. “I could have done that, I guess, but it would have been tough for a lot of countries, and we didn’t want to do that.”
Nevertheless, markets were not very impressed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 3% Thursday while the S&P 500 fell 4% and the Nasdaq declined more than 5%.
Iowa’s top exports include corn, pork and soybeans.
Congress takes a stand on tariffs
On Thursday, top congressional Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley (IA) began crafting legislation to rein in Trump’s tariffs.
The Trade Review Act of 2025 stipulates that Congress must review any new tariff Trump or any other President imposes within 48 hours.
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“The President shall submit to Congress a notification of the imposition of or increase in the duty that includes an explanation of the reasoning for imposing or increasing the duty; and an assessment of the potential impact of imposing or increasing the duty on United States businesses and consumers,” the bill says.
In addition to regulating future tariffs, the bill would force the tariffs Trump just imposed to expire in 60 days if they aren’t reviewed and approved by Congress.
“If a joint resolution of disapproval with respect to a duty is enacted into law [by Congress] under subsection (e), the duty shall cease to have force or effect,” the bill states.
Will Congress put the kibosh on tariffs?
The Grassley bill, which was jointly introduced by Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell (WA), would be the Republican-controlled upper house’s most significant challenge to the Trump administration’s agenda.
Grassley hails from a state that will be profoundly affected if the trade war continues.
Iowa imports about $2.7 billion worth of goods, or 22% of its total imports, from the EU alone, according to data from LendingTree. It also exports $2.2 billion worth of goods to the EU annually, representing 13% of its total exports. Trump’s EU tariff is 20%.
That is just the EU; the state’s largest export market is Canada.
Iowa exported $5 billion in goods to Canada in 2024, according to the federal government, representing about 30% of the state’s total. Mexico was second with $3.2 billion in goods sold.
While over 3,000 Iowa companies exported goods abroad in 2022, 81% were small—to medium-sized firms with fewer than 500 employees.
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Nevertheless, there is little chance this bill will become law since President Donald Trump himself would have to sign it.
It would take a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and House to overturn a Presidential veto.
But Grassley isn’t the only Republican making his voice heard on the issue.
“I think there’s something to be said for having congressional review, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) told Politico.
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