From the announcement[0]: "The extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)."
Here's an NYT article on the IEEPA[1], which was passed in the 1970s and allows the president to declare an emergency and then take actions based on that without Congressional action. I think that tariffs under the IEEPA have never been done before, but sanctions have.
Here's an NYT article on the IEEPA[1], which was passed in the 1970s and allows the president to declare an emergency and then take actions based on that without Congressional action. I think that tariffs under the IEEPA have never been done before, but sanctions have.
0: https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-pr...
1: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/us/politics/trump-tariffs...