
As his trade war faces legal pushback, Trump has other tariff tools he could deploy
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are facing legal headwinds for the first time — but he has other tools he could deploy in his quest to realign global trade.
A federal appeals court is still deciding whether there will be a stay on Trump’s universal tariffs enacted through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, usually referred to by the acronym IEEPA. The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled the duties were unlawful last month.
IEEPA is a national security statute that gives the U.S. president authority to control economic transactions after declaring an emergency. It had never previously been used for tariffs.
Trump declared emergencies at the United States’ northern and southern borders linked to the flow of fentanyl and migrants in order to hit Canada and Mexico with economywide tariffs. He later declared an emergency over trade deficits to impose his retaliatory “Liberation Day” duties on most nations.