Does Donald Trump have unlimited authority to impose tariffs?
Yes, but other factors could hold him back
THE ORIGINAL intention was for American presidents to be mere legal executors—not emperors able to impose their will unilaterally. Over time, though, Congress has ceded more and more authority to the executive branch, and the courts, the third coequal branch of government, have happily blessed the arrangement. Nowhere is this clearer than in trade policy.
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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “What might hold Tariff Man back?”
United States
November 30th 2024- Democratic states are preparing for Donald Trump’s return
- Does Donald Trump have unlimited authority to impose tariffs?
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- An FBI sting operation catches Jackson’s mayor taking big bribes
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From the November 30th 2024 edition
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Donald Trump’s Washington reaches a new partisan peak
His address to Congress showed that Republicans will follow their leader anywhere, and that Democrats don’t have one
Andrew Cuomo plots a comeback in New York City
The disgraced former governor announces a run for mayor of the Big Apple
Trump’s armed forces won’t look like Biden’s
America is set to spend more—and differently
Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s savvy dealmaker
The novice diplomat embodies the president’s transactional worldview
America has never had state media like it does today
Donald Trump and Elon Musk are revolutionising presidential communication
America’s Gen Z has got religion
Because of them, a long decline in the number of Christians has levelled off