Trump Spurns Calls to Codify Tariffs in 2026 State of the Union

Feb. 25, 2026, 3:12 AM UTC

President Donald Trump assured lawmakers he would not ask them to pass legislation instituting his global tariffs, saving them from taking politically difficult votes on his trade agenda.

“Congressional action will not be necessary,” Trump during his State of the Union address to Congress. “It is already time-tested and approved.”

The Trump administration is moving to rebuild his wall of duties on foreign imports after the Supreme Court batted down his invocation of emergency powers to legally underpin them.

They’re instead relying on a patchwork of narrower authorities, including a temporary 10% global levy, which will increase to 15%, and investigations that could result in tariffs on industrial goods.

He did however ask lawmakers to pass legislation to codify his health care agenda, ban lawmakers from securities (H.R. 7008), and bar states from granting commercial drivers’ licenses to undocumented immigrants.


To contact the reporter on this story: Zach C. Cohen in Washington at zcohen@bloombergindustry.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sarah Babbage at sbabbage@bgov.com

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