No 'Tax' on Mexican Imports Without Congressional Approval, CRS Says
The Congressional Research Service issued a report (here) on the difference between an import tariff and a border tax, after some media reports used the terms interchangeably to describe late January statements by the Trump administration that it was considering…
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imposing a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico. The report notes that, while the Constitution assigns tariff authority “exclusively in Congress,” the legislative body “over time” has delegated authority to the president to modify tariffs by proclamation under certain circumstances. Congress has not, however, delegated its taxing authority to the president as it has, to some extent, for tariffs, and a border tax would likely be part of a larger domestic tax reform effort, according to the report. “Accordingly, it appears the President could not unilaterally impose a 20% tax on imports from Mexico,” the CRS said. A Republican source recently said Jan. 26 comments by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer about Trump administration considerations of taxing Mexican imports to pay for a U.S. wall on the Mexican border are consistent with the House GOP’s border adjustment proposal (see 1701270040).