Global Business Case: Tariffs
Student Name:
Student ID:
Instructor Name:
Date of Submission:
, Justification for the Tariffs
The main reason the U.S. administration has cited for these tariffs is national security
concerns. The government specifically mentions gaps in illegal immigration and the increase
of illicit drugs, fentanyl, entering the United States through its borders with Mexico and
Canada. According to the administration, in both countries, the challenges were not met and
given that, economic measures are taken to protect U.S. interests (Mann, 2025).
To carry out these tariffs, President Trump activated the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the National Emergencies Act (NEA). These suspensive
statutes give the President very broad authority to regulate international commerce in
response to unusual and extraordinary occurrences posing a threat to national security
(Steptoe, 2025). The administration’s justification of tariffs has been to declare a national
emergency to justify them as necessary means of counteracting the threats identified.
Potential Violation of the USMCA
The USMCA, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in
2020, was aimed at promoting free trade among the three nations by eliminating tariffs on the
majority of the goods in trade between the three (Office of the United States Trade
Representative, 2020). But the U.S. has been imposing tariffs recently, and questions about
whether the USMCA was violated by these.
USMCA Article 32.2 allows parties, including the imposition of tariffs, to take such
measures as it may consider necessary for national security. On the other hand, such actions
rarely happen in situations in which it is not necessary, that is, situations where there is no
direct threat of armed conflict or international instability (Lawder, 2025). The measures taken
by the administration to impose tariffs on goods coming into the country as a result of
2
Student Name:
Student ID:
Instructor Name:
Date of Submission:
, Justification for the Tariffs
The main reason the U.S. administration has cited for these tariffs is national security
concerns. The government specifically mentions gaps in illegal immigration and the increase
of illicit drugs, fentanyl, entering the United States through its borders with Mexico and
Canada. According to the administration, in both countries, the challenges were not met and
given that, economic measures are taken to protect U.S. interests (Mann, 2025).
To carry out these tariffs, President Trump activated the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the National Emergencies Act (NEA). These suspensive
statutes give the President very broad authority to regulate international commerce in
response to unusual and extraordinary occurrences posing a threat to national security
(Steptoe, 2025). The administration’s justification of tariffs has been to declare a national
emergency to justify them as necessary means of counteracting the threats identified.
Potential Violation of the USMCA
The USMCA, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in
2020, was aimed at promoting free trade among the three nations by eliminating tariffs on the
majority of the goods in trade between the three (Office of the United States Trade
Representative, 2020). But the U.S. has been imposing tariffs recently, and questions about
whether the USMCA was violated by these.
USMCA Article 32.2 allows parties, including the imposition of tariffs, to take such
measures as it may consider necessary for national security. On the other hand, such actions
rarely happen in situations in which it is not necessary, that is, situations where there is no
direct threat of armed conflict or international instability (Lawder, 2025). The measures taken
by the administration to impose tariffs on goods coming into the country as a result of
2
