Trade, Tariffs and Trumponomics

Trade, Tariffs & Trumponomics

As President Donald Trump enters his second term, trade has become a central pillar of his foreign policy. CFR experts provide timely analysis on the trade-offs and costs involved as they explore the ripple effects on U.S. relations with allies and competitors alike and broader impact on the global economic system.

View Trade Experts

An employee works on the production line of LED strip lights.

Framing The Debate

Relief and Realism: Global Reactions to U.S. Tariff Rulings

Expert Brief by Brad W. Setser

Peter Navarro at a White House press conference

Trump’s Tariffs Aren’t Over, But They Face a Major Challenge

Expert Brief by Inu Manak

Automation expands at Long Beach Container Terminal in California

Tariffs on Trading Partners: Can the President Actually Do That?

Report by Inu Manak

Can the President Actually Do That?

Inu Manak on Trade: Can the President Actually Do That?

Ways the President Can Raise Tariffs

Authority	Key Powers
Tariff Act of 1930 (Smoot-Hawley Tariff) 19 U.S.C. § 1338	Grants president authority to raise tariffs up to 50 percent of the product’s value after the U.S. International Trade Commission makes a finding that a foreign country has discriminated against U.S. commerce.
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 - Section 232 19 U.S.C. § 1862	Permits the president to modify imports through tariffs or quotas where there is an identified threat to national security resulting from an investigation pursued by the Department of Commerce.
Trade Act of 1974 – Section 122 19 U.S.C. § 2132	Permits the president to impose tariffs of up to 15 percent for 150 days (unless extended by Congress) on the basis of “large and serious” U.S. balance of payments deficits.
Trade Act of 1974 – 201 Safeguards 19 U.S.C. § 2251	Authorizes the president to impose tariffs or take certain other actions if the International Trade Commission finds that a surge in imports is a “substantial cause of serious injury” to a U.S. domestic industry.
Trade Act of 1974 – Section 301 19 U.S.C. § 2411	Allows USTR, under the president’s authority, to investigate and take action against unfair foreign trade practices.
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) 50 U.S.C. § 1338 1701 et seq	Allows the president to regulate imports in response to an “unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside of the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.”

Our Trade Experts

Edward Alden

Senior Fellow

Heidi Crebo-Rediker

Senior Fellow

Michael Froman

President, Council on Foreign Relations

Matthew P. Goodman

Distinguished Fellow, Director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, and Director of the CFR RealEcon Initiative

Jennifer Hillman

Senior Fellow for Trade and International Political Economy

Jonathan E. Hillman

Senior Fellow for Geoeconomics

Zongyuan Zoe Liu

Maurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow for China Studies

Inu Manak

Fellow for Trade Policy

Shannon K. O'Neil

Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair

Brad W. Setser

Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow

Benn Steil

Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics

Tariffs Calendar

View the full calendar

Visualizing Trade

In Focus

Donald Trump Wants Reciprocity in Trade: Here’s a Closer Look

The president’s plan for reciprocal tariffs sounds good in theory. But there was a reason the United States abandoned the approach a century ago. The gains would be few and the costs enormous.

Article by Edward Alden, Author and Jennifer Hillman, Author

What Trump’s Trade War Would Mean, in Nine Charts

President Trump’s tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico could upend U.S. trade. These nine charts show what’s at stake, what comes next, and why it matters.