Trump's imminent executive actions stir legal, trade tensions
According to the Wall Street Journal, President-elect Donald Trump does not intend to impose new tariffs on Monday but will outline his future trade policy in a document. Among Trump's initial legal actions will be declaring a state of emergency at the border, deploying the military there, and ending birthright citizenship.
According to the newspaper, Donald Trump plans to sign a "broad memorandum" on Monday instructing agencies to prepare an assessment of trade relations with China, Mexico, and Canada. However, he will not announce new tariffs on products from these countries.
New tariffs not so soon
Trump threatened to impose such tariffs on the first day – 25% on America's neighbours and 10% on China – if these countries do not curb drug trafficking among other issues.
As stated during a press briefing by a representative of the new administration, among the first legal acts signed by Trump will be 10 executive orders regarding migration, including declaring a state of emergency on the southern border, suspending asylum applications, restoring the policy of returning immigrants who cross the border illegally to Mexico, and ending or limiting birthright citizenship, which means acquiring citizenship by being born on US soil.
This is mainly to affect children of immigrants residing in the USA illegally and on short-term stays. The legality of many of these actions is contested and will be subject to legal challenges.
These are to be Trump's first decisions
Trump is also expected to declare a "national energy emergency," which would allow bypassing regulations related to oil and other resource extraction.
According to CNN, Trump also intends to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the American Gulf and restore the name Mount McKinley to the highest peak in North America, Denali, in honour of President William McKinley (1897-1901), admired by Trump and known for imposing tariffs.
The Semafor portal reported that one of the first legal acts will also be the establishment of the Elon Musk Commission DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), tasked with presenting plans for the "radical restructuring" of the federal bureaucracy and budget cuts.
According to reports from the "Washington Post," the legality of Musk's commission – from which its co-chair, investor, and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, is expected to resign – will be immediately challenged in a planned lawsuit. According to lawyers announcing the suit, the commission does not meet the transparency requirements that advisory committees are obliged to follow under regulations.
