Top Republican in US Senate says Congress will let tariffs play out

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By Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated on Monday that his chamber is unlikely to impede the implementation of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs.

“I expected some turbulence in the stock market, I think everybody did. This was a change in policy, a consequential one, but I think we got to let it play out and see what ultimately happens not only in the near term, but in the long term,” Thune told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Thune also said that “everybody is concerned” about the U.S. stock market, citing Americans’ investment and retirement savings accounts tied to the market’s success.

The top Senate Republican, who is from the agriculture-heavy state of South Dakota, is in charge of the chamber’s legislative schedule and said a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate to require congressional approval for new tariffs has no future after the president said he would veto the bill.

The measure was introduced last week by Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington and Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, after Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on imported goods that have sparked Wall Street’s worst sell-off in years.

“The president has indicated he would veto it. I don’t see how they get it on the floor in the House. We are going to wait and see what is going to happen next,” Thune said.

The U.S. Constitution granted Congress trade authority but over time the legislature has passed this power to the executive branch.

Seven Republican senators including Grassley have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill.

Grassley told reporters on Monday he wasn’t surprised by Trump’s veto threat.

“If a president has an authority, then I think a president is going to be very jealous about giving any of it up,” Grassley said.

(Reporting by Bo Erickson; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)