The Trump administration has relied heavily on export controls and tariffs as central components of its economic strategy, but both mechanisms are facing substantial operational and legal obstacles that are hindering their implementation.
Export controls, designed to restrict foreign access to sensitive American technology and products with potential military applications, are experiencing significant delays in the licensing process. According to the US China Business Council, companies are waiting more than a year for export licenses despite government policies stipulating a maximum 90-day approval period. A recent survey found that 95 percent of American firms selling to China reported facing license delays, resulting in what officials estimate as billions of dollars in lost business to competitors. The delays stem partly from confusion within the Bureau of Industry and Security regarding policy direction, as the Trump administration has sent mixed signals—at times restricting exports after the South Korea meeting last October, while at other times permitting sales of advanced semiconductors to China. This incoherence has reportedly led the agency’s leadership to personally review all license applications, creating significant bottlenecks.
Tariffs, the second major economic tool, have encountered separate challenges. The Supreme Court struck down a substantial portion of tariffs earlier in February, ruling that the president lacked authority to invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act during peacetime. Additionally, the remaining tariffs face escalating fraud problems, particularly involving goods from China. Transshipment schemes—routing goods through intermediaries to conceal their origin and evade higher tariff rates—cost the United States an estimated $45 billion to $75 billion annually. Data analysts have also identified evidence of importing companies underreporting the value of goods entering the country to minimize tariff obligations, with cargo values from China showing unexplained drops that exceed normal supply chain adjustments.
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