The president’s executive order creates new authority to impose tariffs tied to oil shipments to the island.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week declaring a national emergency related to Cuba. The order established a framework allowing the United States to impose tariffs on imports from countries found to be supplying oil to Cuba, though it leaves the scope and rate of any tariffs to be determined by senior officials across several federal departments.
President Trump stated in the order, “I find that the policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Cuba constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
He explained further, “The Cuban communist regime supports terrorism and destabilizes the region through migration and violence.”
The directive builds on long-standing U.S. restrictions on Cuba, including a decades-old economic embargo and secondary sanctions affecting foreign firms.
The order comes as courts, including the Supreme Court, consider legal challenges to the administration’s broader use of tariffs under executive authority, particularly questions about the division of power between Congress and the White House.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For President Trump as he determines the threats that are facing the U.S. and evaluates options to address them.
- For discernment for the president and officials in his Cabinet as they make decisions and take action.
Sources: UPI News, The White House
