Bill Barring Use of IEEPA to Impose Import Tariffs Clears Senate Committee
A bill barring use of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act as grounds for imposing import tariffs or quotas on another country cleared the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee without fanfare before the August congressional recess. Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., introduced S-2413 with six co-sponsors. To stem the influx of migrants at the southern border, President Donald Trump threatened in May to use his authority under the 1977 statute to impose 5 percent tariffs on Mexican imports starting June 10, and hike them by 5 points monthly to 25 percent on Oct. 1 if the border crisis persisted (see 1905310014). Trump lifted the threat days later, not before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce threatened litigation challenging his IEEPA authority to levy the import duties against Mexico (see 1906080001). No U.S. president in history has invoked IEEPA to impose tariffs on the imports of another country.