How Republicans Could Stop Donald Trump's Tariffs

They’d need to stand up and reassert their constitutional powers over trade.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is crashing the global economy with arbitrary tariffs against countries around the world, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Congress could stop the tariffs at any time.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to control tariffs, but lawmakers have over the decades ceded their power to the White House with laws expanding the president’s trade powers, including authorities to impose duties in cases of emergency.

Trump has claimed fentanyl and international trade itself are emergencies to justify taxes of 10% or higher not just on every U.S. trading partner but on friendly neighbors like Canada and even on uninhabited islands home to only seals or penguins.

Already, members of Congress have introduced legislation to roll back the president’s tariff power. But Republican leaders have given no indication they will allow the bills to become law, as they work instead on passing trillions of dollars in tax cuts.