Brendan Smialowski/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
Brendan Smialowski/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
When President Trump introduced his sweeping new tariffs this yr, many commerce legislation specialists had been startled. Usually, presidents do not have the authority to impose broad tariffs with a snap of their fingers.
However Trump’s advisors have an uncommon new authorized idea. They are saying that so long as there is a nationwide emergency of some sort, Trump might be able to create no matter tariffs he needs. It is a inventive interpretation of a 1977 legislation known as the Worldwide Emergency Financial Powers Act, or IEEPA. To justify his newest tariffs, the president declared nationwide emergencies involving unlawful immigration, the fentanyl disaster, and the commerce deficit.
However no president has ever tried to make use of the legislation on this approach.
Now, the destiny of Trump’s tariffs — and the inventive authorized idea behind them — lies with the courts. A couple of dozen lawsuits have challenged his tariffs, claiming that they’re illegal and presumably even unconstitutional. And a few judges have began to agree.
On immediately’s present: What are the President’s powers relating to tariffs? The place do they arrive from? What are their limits? And, what would be the destiny of Trump’s tariffs?
For extra on Trump’s tariffs:
This episode was hosted by Willa Rubin and Jeff Guo. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Harry Paul with an help from Gilly Moon. Alex Goldmark is Planet Cash‘s govt producer.
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Music: Common Manufacturing Music – “Nonsense,” “Pop and Lock,” and “Pulse Hop”
