Evening star., 1940-03-29


prevented from exercising instantly
her trade power as against nations
which impose excessive trade re-
strlctions and in favor of those
nations which give America trade
benefits.
Under the Constitution. treaty.
making requires Senate ratification
by a two-thirds vote but tariff
making requires only a majority
Of both houses of Congress. Those
In the Senate who want to kill the
reciprocity agreements have gotten
behind a proposal to require Senate
ratification of every trade agree
ment. whereas those who favor
the continuance of the present
method of making reciprocity agree
ments prefer that the power be
exercised by the executive agencies
along lines prescribed by Congress.
Court Upholds Power Delegation.
The Supreme Court has already
upheld the delegation of power to
executive agencies including the
tariff-making process. But the
court has insisted that standards
must be set forth and limits out
lined, so there can be no usurpa- =
ton of power. If Congress wishes
to delegate its tariff making power
to an executive agency or group OF
agencies it can constitutionally do
so. 1t has been delegated in that
manner in the past by Republican
Congresses, and tariffs have been
proclaimed as consequence by ex-
ecutive agencies of Republican ad-
ministrations.
Because tariff is necessarily a
matter of foreign intercourse, it is
impossible for Congress to pass new
tariff laws without taking into ac-
count conditions in foreign coun-
tries and the willingness of foreign
governments to make trade conces-
sions dependent on American action.
So while tariff making is domestic
matter, 1t is also a problem Of exter-
nal relations and there is no con-
stitutional obstacle to the carrying
out by an executive agency of a
power or instruction granted or stip-
ulated by Congress with reference to
a foreign government
The truth is that virtually all the
major governments of the world can
act overnight and the executive in
parliamentary governments is al
ready part of the legislative body,
50 the proposal of the one is GUS
tomarily the act of the other. But
In America If every relationship
with a foreign government that is
reduced to writing has to be called
treaty and needs Senate ratifica-
ton. then the United States can
readily be taken advantage of by
foreign powers. Prolonged delays in
treaty making cannot be avoided,
and tariff reprisals issued when
Congress is not in session cannot
be handled except by delegated
power.
Authority Clear.
Historically, the process of making
executive agreements to carry out
the will of Congress or a policy
already set forth by legislation has
been recognized as coming within
the broad constitutional powers of
the executive branch in conducting
the foreign relations of the Govern
ment. The argument that the pres
ert reciprocity agreements are un-
constitutional falls to the ground
wnen one reads the decisions of the
Supreme Court actually upholding
the so-called flexible tariff pro-
visions of previous tariff laws. It is
quite possible to separate the tariff
making process from the making OF
agreements with foreign govern
ments. The legislation could be
written 50 as to delegate tariff
making changes to an executive
commission conditioned upon GER
tain attitudes by foreign govern
ments. But while this would liter
ally avoid ratification of treaty
by the Senate, it would not enable
the executive commission to get a
binding agreement in writing from
the foreign government.
Smoke Screen Used.
The delegation to the executive
branch of power to change the
tariffs and to make agreements with
foreign governments without ratifl-
cation by the Senate is in conform
ity with precedent and is really not
the underlying trouble with the
process at all. The objectors are
in truth against certain tarifi
changes, but decline to be put pub
licly in the position of defending
high protective tariffs. The Presi-
dent and Secretary Hull would never
have been able to build up the world
trade that has been recovered IN
the last few years If 1t had not been
for the use of the reciprocal trade
agreements as a means of reducing
tariffs
The old way was to bring down
tariff duties and get nothing from
foreign governments in return. The
present reciprocal trade agreement
method merely adds the power to
get trade benefits as duties are re-
duced and 1t is natural that the
whole thing should have been at
tackled by high protectionists In both
the Republican and Democratic
parties.
What washington is witnessing
this week is a debate on an old, old
issue-the tariff-but unhappily the
implications of turning the clock
back to log rolling rather than to
move forward with trade agreements
are not yet widely recognized as
related to a realistic change that
has come in the manner that vir-
tually all foreign governments deal
with tarif matters nowadays.
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