By using the threat of tariffs to pressure Canada and Mexico to pledge to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States, President Donald Trump pursued a novel legal theory. He declared an emergency then used his emergency authority to threaten to impose tariffs to get our neighbors to comply with his border enforcement and economic policies.
Trump bypassed the typical avenues of tariff policy and instead used the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare the emergency and justify his tariff threats.
The act has been used by various presidents since the 1970s to respond to threats such as the Iran Hostage Crisis, the international drug trade, and the rise of Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.
But presidents have only used it to freeze transactions or seize properties—never to implement broad tariffs.
