Stopping Trump's Tariffs with A New Trade Act

Peter Zeihan 5 min

The only body that matters when it comes to hemming in a president who's gone off the rails is the Senate. The champion of rule of law in the Senate has been roused and things are starting to move.

  • Donald Trump

Chapters

  1. 0:00

    The Political Vacuum

    Explains why normal political checks on the president have failed due to party collapse and lack of expertise.

  2. 2:13

    Constitutional Authority

    States that trade policy belongs to Congress, not the executive branch, citing the 1974 Trade Act. Argues that repealing the act requires a veto-proof majority in the Senate to override presidential vetoes. Identifies Senator Chuck Grassley as a rule of law fanatic who is now co-sponsoring the repeal bill.

  3. 4:29

    New Trade Mechanism

    Describes how the new bill requires convincing the Senate of a tariff's value after 60 days.

Key points

  • 0:00

    Both political parties have broken down and lost their traditional ability to check presidential power.

  • 0:00

    Trump surrounds himself with political lackeys who know nothing about trade or manufacturing.

  • 0:00

    The judiciary never touches trade, or at least only obliquely.

  • 2:13

    The Constitution lays out that tariff policy is a congressional purview, not one of the executive branch.

  • 2:13

    A 1974 act gave the president tariff authority decades ago.

  • 2:13

    Stopping tariffs requires a veto-proof majority of at least 67 senators to override a presidential veto.

  • 4:29

    The new bill requires convincing the Senate that a tariff is a good idea after 60 days.

  • 4:29

    The process has started but is nowhere close to a resolution.

Who and where

People · 1

  • Drawing of Donald Trump

    Donald Trump 6

    President of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)

    Photo 1

1. Photo: Daniel Torok, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Wikidata · redrawn in our house style (Donald Trump)

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