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1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
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The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) is a U.S. federal law enacted in 1977 as Title II of Public Law 95-223. It was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on December 28, 1977.Purpose and BackgroundCongress passed IEEPA to limit and clarify the broad emergency economic powers previously granted to the President under the much older Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) of 1917. TWEA had allowed presidents to exercise sweeping controls over economic transactions (even in peacetime emergencies), and investigations in the 1970s revealed that the U.S. had been under various declared emergencies for decades. This led to reforms via the National Emergencies Act (NEA) of 1976 and IEEPA in 1977, which aimed to restrict such powers to genuine foreign-sourced threats and add congressional oversight.Key ProvisionsThe President can declare a national emergency in response to an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security, foreign policy, or economy that originates in whole or substantial part outside the United States (50 U.S.C. § 1701).
Once declared, the President gains authority under 50 U.S.C. § 1702 to:Investigate, regulate, or prohibit various international economic transactions.
Block/freeze assets and property in which foreign entities have interests.
Restrict or prohibit imports/exports, financial transfers, and other commerce-related activities.
The President must consult with Congress where feasible, report to Congress every six months on the emergency and actions taken, and the emergency can be terminated by Congress or the President.
In cases of actual armed attack on the U.S., additional powers (like property confiscation) apply.
Penalties for violations include civil and criminal fines/imprisonment.
Common UsesIEEPA has become the primary legal foundation for most modern U.S. economic sanctions programs, administered mainly by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Presidents have used it extensively to target countries (e.g., Iran, North Korea, Russia), terrorist groups, narcotics traffickers, and other entities posing foreign threats.It does not explicitly mention tariffs, and its core focus is on blocking transactions, freezing assets, and regulating commerce in emergency contexts rather than broad revenue-raising import taxes (which are traditionally a congressional power under the Constitution). Recent controversies (including Supreme Court cases in 2025–2026) have debated whether IEEPA can justify widespread tariffs, with some rulings holding that it exceeds the statute's intended scope.In summary, IEEPA gives the executive branch flexible but constrained tools for responding to foreign economic threats during declared emergencies, while aiming to prevent unchecked peacetime use of emergency powers.