Trump Tariff Crisis Built on Quicksand

Jeff Jacoby draws on the works of legal scholar Ilya Somin, "Trump-friendly" economist Stephen Moore, and Republican Senator Rand Paul among others to argue that the legal basis Trump asserts for his tariffs is nonexistent.

The dubious legality begins with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) itself, which is Trump's primary excuse for unilaterally raising taxes and cutting off trade without our consent:

In the nearly half-century since President Jimmy Carter signed that statute, no president ever invoked it to impose tariffs -- not against any country and not for any reason. That wasn't because seven consecutive presidents failed to make use of a powerful tool granted to them by Congress. It was because no such tool exists.

Trump's assertions notwithstanding, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize presidents to singlehandedly change the tariffs charged on foreign imports. Indeed, nowhere in the 3,700-word statute does the word "tariff" appear. Neither does "duty," "excise," "impost," "levy," or any other synonym for the taxes charged by governments on imports from other countries. The IEEPA has nothing to do with tariffs. It doesn't even appear in the section of the United States Code -- Title 19 -- that deals with trade. Rather, it is codified in Title 50, which covers "War and National Defense."

Congress passed the law in 1977 to enable presidents to deal quickly with a national emergency during peacetime by ordering sanctions against, or freezing the assets of, a hostile foreign power or terrorist organization. The legislative text refers to an "emergency" that gives rise to "an unusual and extraordinary threat" -- in fact, lawmakers specified that "emergencies are by their nature rare and brief, and are not to be equated with normal, ongoing problems." ... [bold added]

Needless to say, Jacoby follows on with an explanation -- understood by nearly everyone but Trump -- of why "trade deficits" are neither rare, nor brief, nor even a problem.

In addition to helping his readers understand why Trump imagines he has the authority to do this and why he doesn't, really, the piece surveys the legal efforts currently underway to bring the 2025 Trump Tariff Crisis to an end and points the interested reader to further reading on the matter.

-- CAV