Donald Trump is considering declaring a state of national economic emergency, which would serve as a legal justification for imposing a series of new tariffs on imports of foreign goods into the United States.
At least that’s what the American network CNN put forward on Wednesday morning, relying on four sources close to the matter, while Trump has been openly proclaiming for days that he wants to restore the United States’ trade balance.
Such a declaration would allow the Trump administration to implement a new tariff package using theInternational Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA), a law authorizing the president to unilaterally manage imports during a national emergency.
Trump has a soft spot for the law, one source revealed, because it grants broad jurisdiction over how tariffs are applied without strict requirements to prove the tariffs are necessary for national security reasons.
“Nothing is excluded,” said a second source close to the matter, admitting in passing that this proposed national emergency declaration was giving rise to lively debates within Trump’s team. The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment.
Other avenues explored
In 2019, Trump used IEEPA to threaten to impose 5% tariffs on all Mexican imports, which would increase to 25% if Mexico refused to take action to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants crossing the border with the United States.
After intense negotiations between Washington and Mexico City, leading to the signing of an agreement to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy, the tariffs were never implemented.
Getty Images via AFP
But the specter of potential action, based on a national emergency Trump declared at the southern border three months earlier, led prominent business lobby groups to prepare lawsuits challenging the legality of such a move. .
No final decision has been made on whether to declare a national emergency, sources told CNN. Trump’s team is still exploring other legal avenues to strengthen the tariffs proposed by Trump on the campaign trail.
With CNN.
