President Trump he would use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China "because of the major threat of illegal aliens and deadly drugs killing our Citizens, including fentanyl,” Mr. Trump wrote in a social media post. On his first day in office President Trump declared a national emergency on the southern border which allows him to use this Act that was created in 1977. It gives the president a wide range of powers to regulate different financial transactions upon declaring a national emergency. Under the law, presidents can take a wide variety of economic actions “to deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy or economy” of the country.
Past presidents have used the law to impose sanctions, justify export controls, and restrict certain transactions and outbound investment but never has one used it to impose tariffs on a country. Legal experts have already started to questions whether or not Trump can use this power to create tariffs. Some have said that the law gives the president “unchecked executive authority in the economic realm” whiles others see it as a way to quickly create action out of the will of congress. These tariffs could be bad for all Americans with the price of everyday goods rising at high rates.
In the past President Trump has used this law to threaten Mexico with tariffs in 2019 but eventually backed down after working out a deal. Although he has used this authority to penalize Venezuela’s state-owned oil company and impose sanctions on Iran in response for what the administration said were aggressive acts by Tehran.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/us/politics/trump-tariffs-ieepa.html
Trump's use of the IEEPA for tariffs is controversial and could raise prices for Americans. The impact on trade and relations with these countries will be significant. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
ReplyDeleteThis post underscores the controversial use of the IEEPA to impose tariffs. While the Act grants broad authority for addressing external threats, using it for tariffs raises legal and economic concerns. If implemented, these tariffs could escalate prices for consumers, intensifying debates over executive power and its economic implications.
ReplyDeleteThis move by President Trump may be concerning for citizens as his use of the Act is stretching the Act's original intent, possibly having negative repercussions for citizens reflected by prices. Applying the IEEPA to tariffs also poses some questions on its legality. It will be interesting to see if Trump continues to pursue the threat of tariff's on Mexico and Canada again in a month once the temporary resolution time has concluded.
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