During a press briefing on Wednesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta discussed Trump's use of the IEEPA to impose tariffs.
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00:00It focuses specifically on tariffs unlawfully imposed by executive orders
00:05that claim authorization under what's known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA.
00:13This is important because Trump claims this law is the reason he can impose these tariffs, and he is wrong.
00:22The truth is the IEEPA does not apply here.
00:26Trump has had to resort to creating bogus national emergencies that defy reason.
00:34He's even claimed there's an influx of illegal immigration and illicit drugs crossing over the Canadian border
00:39as the basis for imposing across-the-board tariffs on Canada.
00:44It is completely untrue.
00:47In actuality, less than 1% of fentanyl and illegal crossings actually come from Canada.
00:52The reality is the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse.
00:58It's Congress's responsibility to set and collect taxes, duties, and excises, including, yes, tariffs, not the President's.
01:08Congress hasn't authorized these tariffs, much less authorized imposing tariffs,
01:15only to increase them, then pause them, then imminently reinstate them on a whim,
01:20causing our nation and the global economy whiplash.
01:25Trump is attempting to override Congress and steamroll the separation of powers.
01:29That means he's trampling over his own party, by the way, which currently controls Congress.
01:37Again, Congress hasn't given him the authority to impose these sweeping and chaotic tariffs
01:41pursuant to emergency powers, which means he can't do it.
01:45Bottom line, Trump doesn't have the singular power to radically upend the country's economic landscape.
01:53That's not how our democracy works.
01:55Trump may claim these tariffs send a message to our international partners,
02:00but Americans are the ones shouldering the burden.