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"What's more effective and constructive is to work with the
administration to get the policy in a good place and that's what
we're doing," Ryan said in response to a reporter's question. "I
think that's going to be more effective than trying to pass a
piece of legislation that will not make it into law," he added.
At his weekly news conference, Ryan noted that there is a
"difference of opinion" over trade policy and added that
Republican leaders in Congress "engage with the administration
daily."
U.S. farmers and other businesses in states that strongly
supported Trump's election in 2016 have expressed concerns that
their exports could be damaged by a trade war with China or
European nations.
That has prompted some in Congress, including Senate Foreign
Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, to push legislation to
give Congress a stronger role in the president's decisions to
impose tariffs for national security reasons.
Ryan's remarks reflected the difficulty Corker and others could
have in getting enough support in the Republican-controlled
Congress to defy Trump by placing new constraints on his ability
to levy trade tariffs.
Even if such a bill did pass, Trump could veto it, setting up a
standoff between warring factions in the Republican Party
shortly before the November midterm elections that will
determine whether Democrats take over either the House of
Representatives or the Senate.
On Wednesday the Senate, by an overwhelming 88-11 vote, approved
a nonbinding measure by Corker and two other Republicans that
would give Congress tougher oversight of Trump's imposition of
certain tariffs.
This week, Trump threatened 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion
worth of Chinese goods.
If they were to go into effect later this year, they would be on
top of tariffs that Washington triggered on July 7 on $34
billion worth of Chinese exports.
China has retaliated and in Geneva on Thursday, Chinese Vice
Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen called on the United States to
stand down. He called Washington "a trade bully" in remarks to
reporters.
In Washington, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told
Congress that the two trading partners could resume trade talks
if Beijing signaled a willingness to make "structural changes"
in its policies.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Susan
Thomas and Jonathan Oatis)
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