President Donald J Trump turns to the joint session of the Congress as the vice president of JD Vance and the marshal of the house Mike Johnson (R-la) listens in the home chamber of the Capitol building on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 in Washington.
Jabin Botsford The Washington Post | Getty images
President Donald Trump is on tariff madness – and it is not clear if Congress I will try to stop him, even because it has potential power.
Trump presented an almost global tariff system on Wednesday, hitting the overall 10% of the duty on almost every country on the planet and arising dozens of them with much higher tariff rates.
A huge statement of policy immediately storped in the US and around the world, collecting recession fears and causing aggressive retaliation by China.
The new US import duties are consistent with other patronizing politicians, which Trump, who will master the tariffs as an economic medicine, since the office in January.
Trump's tariff qualifications
Trump executive order The implementation of his so -called mutual tariffs says that he derives his authority for actions from four sources in the United States Code.
Among them is the International Act on emergency right and the National Act on emergency.
The president using these provisions in tandem may declare a failure and then apply related tariffs.
Wednesday's ordinance announced the national crisis in response to what it calls “an extraordinary and extraordinary threat” to America of economy and security.
This threat is based on the “national economic policy of key trading partners and structural imbalances in the global trading system,” says the order.
Trump is the first president who used IEEP to apply tariffs as Congress research services.
For the first time he recalled the law in February, when he announced new tariffs for Canada, Mexico and China.
Tariff rights from the ward to the ward
According to the US Constitution, the rights to tax and tariffs belong directly in the legislative ward.
Article 1, Section 8 In the case of constitutional countries, “Congress will be entitled to submit and collect taxes, obligations, fraudsters and excites”, as well as “to regulate trade with foreign nations.”
But the congress adopted provisions giving the president some tariff rights. And the courts generally maintained this organ.
At the beginning of the United States, tariffs were the main source of government income.
Even after the 16th correction, ratified in 1913, he implemented a federal income tax, tariffs apply.
After the economic two of the great crisis and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, the Congress gave the president some freedom in the tariffs.
“The main reason was that it was bulky for them,” said Scott Bomboy, the editor -in -chief of the National Constitution Center in a telephone interview, referring to legislators.
According to the president, there are currently at least six federal laws transferring some of the president's tariff bodies.
What does Congress do?
As the sale on the stock exchange deepens, some bilateral opposition to Trump's tariffs begins to appear.
Four Republican Senators – Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul from Kentucky, Susan Collins from Maine and Alaska Lisa Murkowski – on Wednesday they voted with 45 democrats and two independent, to pass a means that would be in the middle that would be inside. Block Trump tariffs In the case of Canadian imports.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine from Virginia, who is the author of this resolution, said: “In this country there will be a huge broken heart if the congress does not withdraw the president's tariffs.
“Donald Trump began the office with the strongest economy in the world,” said Kaine, according to NBC News. “Within two months with chain chains and tariffs they transformed it into flashing red lights and question marks. We must use tools at our disposal to force him to turn back.”
And A Double -sided Senate Act Introduced on Thursday, he would force the president to notify the Congress of 48 hours of notification before applying new tariffs and allowed the Congress 60 days to approve these duties or permit them.
“For too long, Congress donated its clear rights to regulate the inter-standing trade and foreign executive department,” said Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa on Thursday.
“Based on my previous efforts as the chairman of the Financial Committee, I join the senator (Maria) Cantwell to present a bilateral law on the Trade Review of 2025 to re -assess the constitutional role of the congress and make sure that Congress has a voice in commercial policy,” said Grassley.
But although the Congress may adopt provisions that the president repeals or limits the president's tariff rights, it is less clear whether the legislators will do it.
Any attempts to limit Trump tariffs would probably come into the presidential veto.
And it is unlikely that the Republican Chamber and the Senate replace one, and even more so whether the Chamber will vote for supporting the measures limiting the Senate tariff.
Trump called The effort to undo the punishment of Canada “trick” that is not going anywhere, because the house will never approve it, and I, as your president, will never sign it. “
Courts may be a more profitable path to question Trump tariffs.
Federal lawsuit Filled on Thursday in Florida, he argued that the previous use by Trump by IEEPA to apply wide tariffs on Chinese imports was unconstitutional.
This emergency law “does not allow the president to apply tariffs to the American people,” argues in this lawsuit New Civil Liberties Alliance, a conservative spokeswoman.
A legal challenge may pose a greater threat to Trump than Congress at present. But Congress Research Service notes This court precedent “gave the president a broad latitude to perform his tariff authorities.”