Facebook, Ford, and other blue-chip companies are backing a coalition to stop Trump from imposing tariffs without Congress' approval

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Trump has imposed round after round of tariffs on other countries' goods.

• A group of business lobbies - which count Facebook and Ford among their members - has created a new coalition to stop Trump enacting tariffs without approval from Congress.
• The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) said the US relies too heavily on tariffs, which doesn't necessarily benefit the economy as a whole.
• The NFTC said Congress has the powers to regulate commerce and therefore should "reassert its authority to ensure that tariffs are only used in limited circumstances."
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A group of business lobbies - which count Facebook and Ford among their members - has created a coalition to stop Trump enacting tariffs without approval from Congress.

The National Foreign Trade Council said in a letter that it would be forming the Tariff Reform Coalition, an organization designed to work with Congress to ensure oversight and "review of Presidential use of tariff authority."

The new coalition will represent American manufacturers, retailers, agricultural and food producers, and other supply chain stakeholders who have been hurt by the tariffs.

The letter, sent to Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Ron Wyden as well as Rep. Richard Neal and Rep. Kevin Brady, calls for Congress to use its powers to control American commerce.

"Not since the 1930s has our country relied so heavily on tariffs in an attempt to pick winners in the US market while overlooking the broader consequences for other industries and our economy as a whole," NFTC President Rufus Yerxa said in the letter.

"The Constitution explicitly gives Congress the power to regulate commerce. We believe it is time for Congress to reassert its authority to ensure that tariffs are only used in limited circumstances and only where there is broad consensus between the two branches that such exceptional action is in our overall national interest," Yerxa added.

Industry groups from the Association of Global Automakers to the Farmers for Free Trade signed the letter, expressing the frustration among American businesses towards Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods.

Trump has repeatedly ramped up tariffs on America's trading partners. However, he delayed duties on China by two weeks in October, potentially signaling an improving relationship between the world's two largest economies.

Past efforts to stop Trump's tariff hikes have failed, as Republicans have shied away from resisting the president. But the worry is that if the economy continues to stutter, residents of swing states hurt by the tariffs could move to vote against Trump in 2020.