Latin America in Focus After IEEPA, What Tariff Tools Will Trump Turn to Next?
Close followers of trade news were waiting for this moment: On February 20, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 against President Donald Trump’s use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to slap tariffs on trade partners around the world.
Trump first used IEEPA, a measure typically used to apply sanctions, a year ago, when he imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China with the argument that these three countries hadn’t done enough to stop fentanyl flows into the United States. Then he invoked IEEPA again in April 2025, when he slapped tariffs on countries around the world.
Although SCOTUS' decision reined in Trump's tariffs on one front,he soon enough used another piece of legislation, section 122, to impose new global duties.
“President Trump has a huge trade arsenal at his disposal, and what we're going to be seeing in the next few weeks is the Trump administration using other measures [that are] more procedural but are less legally exposed,” Diego Marroquín Bitar, a fellow with the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies and USMCA expert, told AS/COA Online’s Carin Zissis.
From IEEPA to legal measures like 122, 232, and 301, understanding trade policy can be like speaking another language. Marroquín untangles them all, explaining what the Court decision means for issues like the upcoming USMCA review and the future of trade policy in the region.
This episode was produced by Luisa Leme. Carin Zissis is the host.
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Diego Marroquín Bitar previously joined the podcast to discuss why corn is a thorny U.S-Mexico trade issue. Listen to the episode: t.ly/yCPW0
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