Trump Could Bypass Congress With Tariffs

There are levers at his disposal that would allow President-elect Donald Trump to impose tariffs without congressional approval, Axios reported.

Although setting tariffs is a power given to the legislative branch, the executive branch can impose tariffs, citing economic emergencies, national security issues or unfair trade practices of other countries without support from Congress, according to the report.

There are three avenues Trump could draw from to make his case to bypass Congress on tariffs, Axios reported:

• Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 addresses threats of national security.
• Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 takes aim at unfair trade policies of a foreign government.
• The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) gives the president authorization during a national emergency.

"These three give the executive branch authority to put on tariffs if they think there's big national security issues, if there are national emergencies, or if they think unfair trade practices have happened abroad," Kimberly Clausing, professor of tax law and policy at UCLA School of Law, told Axios.

Trump touted tariffs throughout his campaign, saying in September that "tariffs are the greatest thing ever invented." Even before knowing how congressional elections would turn out, Trump vowed sweeping tariffs in a second term.

With the GOP in the majority in both houses of Congress, Trump may be given more leeway by his fellow Republicans, according to the report.

"Congress will have bigger fish to fry, or maybe implicitly, [they] just don't want to get in his way on this particular issue since it's so near and dear to the Trumpian policy agenda," Clausing told Axios.

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