--- title: Koch Brothers' Network Pushing to Curb Trump's Tariff Powers description: Freedom Partners is launching a six-figure ad campaign backing a bill to cut Donald Trump's power to impose tariffs. canonical: https://time.com/5316633/koch-brothers-donald-trump-tariffs/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-20T14:26:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:21.598Z article:section: Politics og:title: Koch Brothers' Groups Want Congress to Curb Trump's Authority on Tariffs og:description: They want Congress to check Trump's powers on trade og:url: https://time.com/5316633/koch-brothers-donald-trump-tariffs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec63d6b9e36a5ee4/6988f86886f68e8e1c6e7ea3/the-koch-brothers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: the-koch-brothers og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Koch Brothers' Groups Want Congress to Curb Trump's Authority on Tariffs twitter:description: They want Congress to check Trump's powers on trade twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec63d6b9e36a5ee4/6988f86886f68e8e1c6e7ea3/the-koch-brothers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Koch Brothers' Groups Are Lobbying Congress to Curb President Trump's Authority on Tariffs > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: President Trump Is Threatening China With New Tariffs on $200 Billion Worth of Imports [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Is Threatening China With New Tariffs on $200 Billion Worth of Imports](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4WHx7zQx.m3u8) (2:05)  _Published 2018-06-15. President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Trade Representative to prepare new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports Monday as the two nations moved closer to a potential trade war._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jun 20, 2018 2:26 PM UTC  David H. Koch (L); Charles Koch (R) David H. Koch (L); Charles Koch (R)Getty Images (2)  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jun 20, 2018 2:26 PM UTC The network backed by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch is launching a six-figure ad campaign and sending letters to every member of Congress urging them to pass a bill that would curb President Donald Trump’s authority to impose tariffs. The network is urging Congress to support the Global Trade Accountability Act, legislation introduced by Utah Sen. Mike Lee at the beginning of Trump’s presidency. The bill would restore some of Congress’ constitutional authority to regulate foreign trade, requiring the President to seek approval from both houses of Congress before implementing any trade policy. Currently, the White House can act unilaterally on trade sanctions. “By restoring congressional authority to review and approve tariffs, this legislation would help achieve an appropriate and measured balance between the legislative and executive branches in consideration of these important policies,” [the letter reads.](http://freedompartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Lee-Davidson-letter.pdf) The letter cites reports of companies feeling the adverse impacts, both real and anticipated, of Trump’s tariffs on foreign countries. Trump has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum, including on imports from Mexico, Europe and Canada. This past Monday, he ordered the U.S. Trade Representative to prepare tariffs on [$200 billion worth of Chinese goods](http://time.com/5315538/donald-trump-china-tariffs-new/) – his second round of tariff requests on the country – inching the U.S. closer to a trade war with a key economic power. The Koch-backed ad campaign and letter are the first major phase of the [network’s multi-year, multi-million dollar campaign](http://time.com/5300502/koch-brothers-/) to promote free trade and oppose tariffs. Freedom Partners, the organization that coordinates the network’s political activities, is launching television and radio ad campaigns, which will run in the Washington D.C. market and national conservative talk programs, respectively. They are joining with Americans for Prosperity and the Libre Initiative, two other groups under the Koch umbrella, to send the letters to members of Congress. “Tariffs are taxes that make Americans poorer. They raise our cost of living and force higher expenses on our businesses,” James Davis, Executive Vice President of Freedom Partners, said in a statement accompanying the announcement of the ad campaign. “Just consider the working families paying much more for a new washing machine or the locker manufacturer that now must consider outsourcing U.S. jobs overseas.” (Disclosure: Time Inc., TIME’s parent company, was acquired by Meredith Corp. in a deal partially financed by Koch Equity Development, a subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc.) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5316633/koch-brothers-donald-trump-tariffs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5316633/koch-brothers-donald-trump-tariffs/"},"headline":"Koch Brothers' Groups Are Lobbying Congress to Curb President Trump's Authority on Tariffs","datePublished":"2018-06-20T14:26:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:53:21.598Z","description":"They want Congress to check Trump's powers on trade","url":"https://time.com/5316633/koch-brothers-donald-trump-tariffs/","keywords":["trade","Congress","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec63d6b9e36a5ee4/6988f86886f68e8e1c6e7ea3/the-koch-brothers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec63d6b9e36a5ee4/6988f86886f68e8e1c6e7ea3/the-koch-brothers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"the-koch-brothers","caption":"David H. 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