Reed, Colleagues Introduce Bill Requiring Trump to Disclose Foreign Business Interests

Press Release

U.S. Senator Jack Reed joined a group of Senators and House members this week in introducing a bill requiring the president to publicly disclose any financial interests that would be at stake before acting on trade matters.

An original cosponsor of the bicameral Presidential Trade Transparency Act of 2017, Reed joined Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and a group of twelve Senate Democratic colleagues in introducing the bill. The House version of the bill was cosponsored by 31 members, led by Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

The bill would direct the president to disclose foreign income, assets, and liabilities when initiating or continuing trade or investment negotiations with a foreign country, taking or refraining to take certain trade enforcement actions, or granting or modifying preferential tariff treatment under statutory trade preference programs.

If the president fails to submit a timely financial report, the trade agreements would be disqualified from expedited consideration under trade promotion authority.

"The Presidential Trade Transparency Act will provide needed accountability and clarity with regards to President Trump's trade deals and ties to foreign nations," said Senator Reed. "We need to make sure that the interests of the country and its citizenry are protected by the law and that they won't take a secondary role to the personal financial success of our commander in chief."

"Americans have a right to know if the president is looking out for the good of the country or just his own bottom line when he negotiates a trade deal, decides whether or not to enforce our trade laws, or decides whether to cut tariffs on imports from a developing country," said Senator Wyden. "Trump has business interests around the world, but he continues to keep the full nature of those ties secret."

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