President Donald Trump has implemented, formally announced or informally threatened what might now feel like countless tariffs to many Americans.
But Republicans’ plans for taxing imports of finished goods and raw materials alike don’t stop there.
Politico recently acquired an informal document that’s been shared among Republicans in Congress. It lists numerous changes — including a few more tariffs — that they are considering.
For the moment, these proposed changes are talking points, but they could become law as soon as this year. Republicans have a majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, which makes it easier for them to advance legislation and gives them better odds of legislation passing.
Tariffs have historically proven to raise prices and reduce the availability of goods and services for consumers, the Tax Foundation reports. They also reduce economic output, which in turn has been shown to hurt income and employment.
A 2018 analysis, for example, showed that the number of steel-consuming jobs outpaced the number of steel-producing jobs by 80 to 1. A tariff on steel thus stands to spur more job losses than job gains.
So, what tariff policies are Republicans in Congress pondering? Here’s what their document tells us.
1. Codify and increase Section 301 tariffs on China
The idea: “The current 301 tariffs bring in approximately $40 billion per year. This option would codify the 301 tariffs in addition to increasing the tariffs on products already subject to 301.”
How much it’s estimated to bring in for the federal government: $100 billion over 10 years
A Section 301 tariff is a tariff imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. This federal law gives the administration authority to impose new tariffs on countries that break U.S. trade agreements or commit “unjustifiable” or “unreasonable” acts that burden U.S. commerce.
The Section 301 tariffs that are currently in place against China — which stem from actions by both Trump and former President Joe Biden — affect a majority of Chinese imports.
This new proposal by Republicans in Congress calls for increasing the current Section 301 tariffs on China by an unspecified amount and making them federal law. (“Codify” is basically legislative jargon for formally making an existing practice a matter of law.)
Typically, tariffs are implemented via executive order. That technically means the next president could single-handedly revoke the current Section 301 tariffs by issuing another executive order to that effect.
If the current Section 301 tariffs were enshrined in federal law, however, a future president could not single-handedly alter them: Congress would first have to pass a law. So, this new proposal would make it harder to undo or otherwise change the current Section 301 tariffs on China.
2. Create an across-the-board 10% tariff
The idea: “This option would create a 10% across-the-board tariff on all imports.”
How much it’s estimated to bring in for the federal government: $1.9 trillion over 10 years
This proposal by Republicans in Congress is short yet clear: Implement a universal tariff of 10%. That would mean all imports would be taxed 10%, regardless of what country they come from.
Trump has suggested that tariff revenue could replace income tax revenue, but not even universal tariffs would make that feasible, at least not at a 10% rate, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
The federal government collected an estimated $2.5 trillion in individual income taxes in 2024, the institute reports. Universal tariff rates would have to reach 78% for tariff revenue to replace that much tax revenue.
Universal tariffs also “offer many more chances for corrupt dealing than exist under current taxes,” the Economic Policy Institute argues.
Under tariffs authorized by the Trump administration in 2018, for example, importers could request tariff exclusions.
“Essentially, this provided a huge new tax loophole for politically connected large companies to exploit,” the institute writes.
3. Limit China’s de minimis exemption
The idea: “Legislation requiring de minimis value shipments to also pay any existing 301 tariffs would reduce the volume of de minimis shipments from China by half.”
How much it’s estimated to bring in for the federal government: $24 billion over 10 years
This proposal by Republicans involves making a bill known as the End China’s De Minimis Abuse Act of 2024 into law.
This bill, which stalled in the House of Representatives last year, would end de minimis exemptions for goods subject to Section 301 tariffs.
De minimis exemptions allow imports that are valued at less than $800 and imported by individual customers to avoid duty and taxes.
According to the House’s Committee on Ways and Means, global e-commerce has made de minimis shipments a major source of imports to the U.S. Most (60.8%) of these imports come from China. (Think purchases from retailers like Temu and Shein.)
The committee estimated that enacting the 2024 bill would “immediately eliminate de minimis [exemptions] for more than half of all de minimis entries from China.”
If the bill becomes law, it would also make de minimis shipments subject to the same 10-digit classification requirements that already apply to non-de minimis imports. According to the Committee on Ways and Means, this “will not only ensure tariffs are being collected properly, but it also aids law enforcement efforts to address other unfair or illegal trade practices, like the transshipment of fentanyl and items that use forced labor.”
What else do Republicans in Congress have in mind?
The informal document circulated among Republicans in Congress is 50 pages long. Trade-related changes are one of many types of proposals listed in the document.
Some of the proposals, like tariffs, stand to hurt Americans. Others would help by doing everything from expanding Medicare health insurance coverage to lowering federal income taxes.
To learn about the other proposals, check out our coverage:
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