US President Donald Trump pauses while speaking at the Economic Club of New York at the New York Hilton Midtown November 12, 2019, in New York, New York. - European stock markets closed higher on Tuesday, helped by speculation that US President Donald Trump will postpone a tariffs decision on European-made cars. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
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Phil Mattingly explains why Trump has so much power over tariffs

CNN’s Phil Mattingly explains why the executive branch has the power to impose tariffs on other countries, and why President Donald Trump’s unprecedented actions aren’t likely to face any opposition, legal or political, for now.

1:18 • Source: CNN
Politics of the Day 9 videos
US President Donald Trump pauses while speaking at the Economic Club of New York at the New York Hilton Midtown November 12, 2019, in New York, New York. - European stock markets closed higher on Tuesday, helped by speculation that US President Donald Trump will postpone a tariffs decision on European-made cars. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
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Phil Mattingly explains why Trump has so much power over tariffs
1:18
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• Source: CNN
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles listens as President Donald Trump meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb. 4, 2025.
Trump reacts to Susie Wiles’ Vanity Fair interview
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WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 8: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and her boyfriend Brian Glenn a host at the conservative Right Side Broadcasting Network, walk together after she and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) spoke to members of the press on the steps of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on May 8, 2024 in Washington, DC. The House voted overwhelmingly to save Speaker Johnson from Marjorie Taylor Greene's push to oust him from his leadership position, voting 359 to 43 to table the motion to vacate. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
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