Mexico border tariff threat (averted)

On May 30, 2019, President Trump announced he would impose a 5% tariff on all goods from Mexico starting June 10, 2019, rising by 5 points each month to 25% by October, unless Mexico did more to stop unauthorized migration across the southern U.S. border. The claimed legal authority was the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) — a statute designed to freeze foreign assets during national emergencies, never before used to impose tariffs.

That legal novelty was the story. Republicans in Congress, business groups and legal scholars called the move an abuse of emergency powers; even Trump's own lawyers were reportedly unsure it would hold up. With a June 10 deadline looming, Mexico agreed on June 7, 2019, to deploy its National Guard nationwide and to host some asylum-seekers pending U.S. proceedings. Trump declared victory on Twitter and called off the tariffs the night they were due to start.

Not a dollar of the threatened Mexico tariff was ever collected. That is why this entry is tagged rescinded rather than paused — the threat was withdrawn as part of a deal, not frozen pending a restart.

Why it matters now: this 2019 episode was the dry run. The same IEEPA theory came back in 2025 to justify the China fentanyl, Canada/Mexico border and Liberation Day tariffs — and in February 2026 the Supreme Court held in Learning Resources v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs at all, vindicating the skeptics from 2019.

Directly: No one — the tariff never took effect

Ultimately: No one, for this action

Had it taken effect, the burden would have fallen heavily on U.S. importers of Mexican autos, produce and electronics.