Trump says IEEPA can be used for anything except charging

Summary

Donald Trump stated he can use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) for anything, but acknowledged he cannot use it to charge fees Zhitong. This statement comes amid legal challenges to his administration’s use of IEEPA to impose tariffs, with a U.S. court having previously ruled such actions illegal . Legal analyses confirm that the IEEPA text does not explicitly grant authority for levying tariffs , and the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on related matters .

Impact Analysis

So he’s basically admitting the courts have tied his hands on using IEEPA for tariffs. This isn’t just talk; the Court of International Trade already ruled against him , and the Supreme Court is looking at his use of executive power . His ‘can’t charge fees’ line is a quiet concession that his favorite tariff shortcut is closed.

The key signal here is the pivot. He wants everyone to focus on the ‘I can do anything’ part, but the real news is what he’ll do now that the simple tariff hammer is blunted. If not tariffs, what’s next? Asset freezes? Transaction blocks? This forces him to get more creative with non-tariff barriers, making the threat of disruption less predictable.

For the market, this isn’t a sign of easing trade tension. It’s a signal of evolving tactics. The structural risk for global supply chains remains, but the specific weapon might change. This reinforces the long-term de-globalization theme and the need to hedge against erratic policy moves.