President-elect Donald Trump, who will officially be inaugurated Jan. 20, has consistently expressed plans to sign an executive order placing 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Canada and Mexico, with an additional 10% tariff on goods from China.
Mr. Trump has continued supporting his preelection trade agenda, even though 42% of Americans oppose a rise in tariffs.
Now, sources say Mr. Trump may take steps to levy tariffs unilaterally by declaring a national economic emergency, according to a Jan. 8 report from CNN.
If Mr. Trump declares a national emergency, he will have the legal justification to implement universal tariffs on allies and adversaries.
The declaration would give Mr. Trump the power to construct a new tariff program by using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, which authorizes a president to manage imports during a national emergency.
Four sources told CNN that Mr. Trump has a fondness for the IEEPA since it will give him wide-ranging jurisdiction over tariff laws.
During his first presidency, Mr. Trump used IEEPA to threaten a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports, which would rise to 25% if Mexico declined to take action to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants crossing the border into the U.S.
Ultimately, that tariff was never implemented. Mr. Trump's team is also exploring other legal avenues to implement tariffs that he pitched on the campaign trail, according to the report.
He is also considering using Section 338 of U.S. trade law, which allows the president to impose "new or additional duties" against countries deemed to be discriminating against the commerce of the U.S., and Section 301, which Mr. Trump used in his first presidency to place tariffs against China.