When the United States Constitution was created, the founders were wary of an overly powerful executive branch. To avoid the possibility of a future president overstepping their power, they baked in some measures to try and prevent an imbalance of power. However, as the Constitution has weathered the past 237 years of governing, its checks and balances have had minor wear and tear. The breakdown in the balance of powers has allowed the current Trump administration to use an expanded set of powers to erode American Democracy further.
A key example of this in our current news is Trump’s use of Tariffs. Starting in January, Trump threatened a 25 percent tariff before his first actual round of tariffs was placed on China, Mexico, and Canada on February 4. From there, the tariffs have gone back and forth, but for now, they have seemed to have settled for a while with a 10% increase in tariffs on almost all goods from everywhere except China, which has a 125% tariff. While there is speculation around why the Trump administration is placing these tariffs and whether or not they will remain long-term on things is clear, their impact is already starting to be felt across the United States economy. These tariffs are felt in the stock market, passed on to consumers through higher prices, and affect people’s retirement funds. The impact of tariffs is sweeping, so it seems a little strange that they are all within the executive branch’s power. However, that is not how it has always been. Historically, Congress had the power to levy all taxes, including tariffs.
The tariffs that the Trump administration has put in place ignore powers that initially were a power of Congress. However, Trump is able to rely on historical actions taken by previous administrations to justify his use of these tariffs. The Trump administration claims to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 when placing these tariffs on other countries. However, his use of this act in this way is breaking norms, creating executive aggrandizement, and throwing off the checks and balances within American Politics.
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 gives the president the power to control various aspects of economic policy upon the declaration of a national emergency, and Trump is not the first one to use it; Obama used it in 2015, and Bush used it in 2001. If these actions had instead been taken through Congress, then there would have been less precedent for Trump to use it today. However, arguably, Bush and Obama were using the act for something closer to its original purpose; Obama approved a set of sections, and Bush prevented the financial support network that terrorist organizations were using. The excitement already takes away at least part of the cheeks and balances that are supposed to keep the power balanced.
One of the key differences between how this act was used in the past and how it is used today is the difference in forbearance. The norms that used to hold back past presidents from overusing or abusing this act was not a lack of capability to do so but a respect for the norms and traditions of this nation. Forbearance, as defined in Levitsky and Ziblatt in How Decpmcyies Die, is the ability of a leader to restrain the power they are exercising not because they do not technically have the right but because the norm of government is for them to not take that action. However, Donald Trump seems to have a different level of forbearance and has decided to take this act to its extreme. What started as a state of emergency has expanded to include global tariffs. The choice to ignore the norms that past presidents have held themselves to regarding this act only centralizes power under the executive branch even more and further erodes Deconcy within America by ignoring the norms imperative to a healthy Democracy.
When Trump chooses to ignore previous presidents’ norms, he is centralizing the power. This centralization of power creates a sense of executive aggrandizement. As Levitsky and Ziblatt also stated, when an executor uses their full ability within their position without forbearance, they are also eroding democracy by taking power away from other positional areas that might hold power. When an executive acts in an executive administration manner, they can still do it while still being entirely within the law as Trump is. His actions to undermine and expand his power create issues for decency.
Finally, Trump’s choosing to use this lack of forbearance and executive aggrandizement to accomplish his goals instead of going through Congress is ignoring what is supposed to be a key power of Congress. His actions taken through The International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 also seem to align with what Ozan O. Varol suggests in Stealth Authoritarianism, which discusses how those who want to erode dominoes from the inside will start by undermining the accountability mechanism. That is what Trump did when using the act instead of going through Congress. The tariffs that he has put in place are far more extensive than what the act was intentionally used for; if he had presented this idea to Congress and they had passed it, then they would have been able to ensure that these tariffs were in the best interest for the United States as whole, holding Trump accountable for that actions he is taking. However, he undermined that mechanism by setting a percentage for himself to do it again in other ways. This lack of accountability to Congress and the Checks and balances that are so integral to American democracy makes these tariffs a clear sign of democratic erosion within America.
While Trump is not the first to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, he is the first one to use it to undermine American democracy. His tariffs show a lack of forbearance, Executive aggrandizement and disregard the Constitutions checks and balances.
https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2025/4/10/economic-effects-of-president-trumps-tariffs
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/a-timeline-of-trumps-tariff-actions-so-far
Glenna, thank you very much for your post. I thoroughly enjoyed your insights, and thank you for your contribution.
I particularly appreciate your comment regarding China. For years, Trump and Xi Jinping have gone at each other, in what seems like an ego battle, to secure global domination and influence. I was wondering if you could expand a bit more on how you think this massive power struggle affects not only other large nations but smaller states, such as those in the South China Sea. I think this region is becoming increasingly important as a geopolitical battleground.
Regarding the tariffs, while it is no secret that they will have severe and adverse domestic effects, what do you think? If the tariffs are fully implemented, will the impact be on future generations? If the next president is also a Republican, do you think the tariffs will be reduced? Will they stay in place? It seems that these tariffs are a sudden reaction to China’s persistence in placing a tariff on the US, and I am perplexed as to why Americans have to suffer because of it.