Democrats gain influence over trade agenda, but tariff is another question

Democrats' resounding sweep to a majority in Congress gives them a big microphone and spotlight to scrutinize President Donald Trump's trade policies, but largely leaves them unable to override his veto on any vote to overturn his tariffs or rescind trade authorities, trade and legal experts said on Wednesday.



The scale of the wins in the House of Representatives and the Senate give Democrats a chance to use their authority over government agency funding to seek concessions from Trump on trade an other issues, but trade advisers were telling clients to temper any expectations that the vote would lead to near-term changes in Trump's tariff policies.



"The swing in Congress, the results of the election, are very unlikely to have a significant impact on the president's trade agenda and the tariffs that are in place,"



According to officials and other trade experts said the major focus for Democrats will be oversight investigations and hearings on trade committees that will come under Democratic control.



Democrats have expressed a desire to rescind some of the archaic trade laws that Trump has used to impose tariff, such as his punitive duties on Canadian imports under the nearly century-old, never-before-used Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.