America’s Tariffs: Was There Ever a National Emergency? – The American Spectator | USA News and PoliticsThe American Spectator

On Inauguration Day, President Trump hit the deck running, knowing what he wanted to do immediately, knowing his powers would be at their highest. The country does not like all of it, but Trump has been true to his word.

The border with Mexico is now secure, with crossings averaging 95 percent less than during the Biden administration — after monumental misrepresentations by then-Vice President Kamala Harris (“the border is secure”) and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

Trump has offered direct talks with Iran about its nuclear enrichment, and he has threatened military strikes if talks fail — unlike the Biden administration, which capitulated to Iran for years, and the Obama administration’s supine approach before that. (RELATED: Iranian Nuclear Talks Ahead of Jewish Holiday)

Not only that, Trump has taken an offensive posture toward strikes on the Houthis, an Iranian proxy, threatening “overwhelming lethal force” and warning Iran in the process, unlike the Biden administration, which adopted a mainly defensive stance to protect U.S. naval and commercial assets. In mid-March, the Pentagon advised that the Houthis have attacked the U.S. Navy and commercial vessels over 300 times since 2023. While recent attacks show more resolve, Yemen is about twice the size of Oregon, and the Houthis are still belligerent. (RELATED: The Meaning of US Airstrikes on Houthis)

Further, Trump’s wholehearted support for Israel and giving it latitude to defend itself are also in contrast with that of the Biden administration, which sought to censure Israel over its prosecution of the war in Gaza. The jury is out on Trump’s attempt to end the Russia–Ukraine war, but now President Vladimir Putin has been teed up as the obstacle to substantive talks.

In our hemisphere, the Trump administration is trying to reduce China’s operating influence in the Panama Canal through an acquisition of two ports owned by the Hong Kong firm CK Hutchison by the U.S. investment firm BlackRock. (RELATED: China Poses a Severe Threat in Panama and Leaves the US With No Choice.)

Elon Musk has been mandated to reduce fraud and waste in the U.S. government and downsize it as well. Further, tax cuts, energy production, and deregulation are on the White House agenda. Other achievements in a matter of a few months include the eradication of DEI in government, and affirmation of biological gender identity — woke is no longer fashionable.

Unfortunately, the pandemonium in global equity markets caused by the imposition of tariffs on a massive scale threatens these accomplishments and makes the president look rash and whimsical.

The partial recovery on Wednesday was a relief, but the Dow Jones, NASDAQ, and S&P are still off about 12–18 percent from recent highs. Confidence has been damaged on Main Street, Wall Street, and in Silicon Valley, and our major allies are shocked. The risks of a global recession have increased markedly. (READ MORE: Are We Now in a Recession but Don’t Know It?)

America’s reputation and reliability may not recover quickly from what is viewed by some as capricious behavior, regardless of what deals may be reached with China, the European Union, Canada, and Mexico. The apparent flippancy of it all has infuriated our allies. (RELATED: Tariff Delay Opportunities and Risks)

The White House has justified its actions by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. The intent of the act was to permit rapid action in the face of extraordinary jeopardy to U.S. security and includes various actions that the president may take — tariffs are not among them. To revoke the declaration of a national emergency, a supermajority of both the House and Senate is required. We should expect debate about whether the White House is acting within the intent of the act, although other presidents have used it to support policy changes, too.

However, some may argue that the right question is whether there was ever a national emergency in the first place.

Trade deficits have been a way of life for years and have therefore been a “known known.” They are evidence of the consumer’s freedom of choice and have helped the U.S. achieve a high standard of living. They have induced foreign governments and banks in countries like China and Japan to buy American treasury securities, thereby reducing our capital costs and making it easier to finance budget deficits.

While the level of trade and budget deficits is acknowledged to be dramatically outsized — the former borne of unfair trade practices — they could be addressed by selective tariffs and spending cuts, as DOGE is doing. A desperate sense of urgency that shocks the world, destroys market capital, infuriates allies whom we need to contain China and Russia, and frightens the American people is to be avoided. Tall in the saddle and going it alone are fine in Clint Eastwood’s Westerns, but the reality is that the United States needs allies.

As I have recently written in The American Spectator, some decoupling from China is a good thing, but at this point, both Trump and President Xi Jinping need an exit ramp to save face. The 20th century has indeed shown the world the price of humiliation for a major power. (RELATED: America’s Tariffs: Clear Losers, but Decoupling From China)

Indeed, China is Trump’s main focus, and a real national emergency would be if China invaded Taiwan. That would settle their emotional grievances dating to the flight of the Kuomintang to what in 1949 was Formosa; blow a hole in the trade and investment framework of Asia; give China control of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the largest producer of chips in the world; intimidate our Asian allies to be subservient to Beijing; and humiliate the United States. (RELATED: China’s Threat to Taiwan: Intentions and Capabilities)

The anger against the White House is now palpable. If it does not subside before the midterm elections of next year, Republican control of Congress could be at risk, and the American people might then get to say, “We are your retribution.”

READ MORE from Frank Schell:

America’s Tariffs: Clear Losers, but Decoupling From China

Are We Now in a Recession but Don’t Know It?

ED and USAID Are Batting Practice: The Pentagon Is the Challenge

Frank Schell is a business strategy consultant and former senior vice president of the First National Bank of Chicago. He was a lecturer at the Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago, and is a contributor of opinion pieces to various journals.