The global implications of US executive powerBy The Manila TimesAfter decades of global integration, misguided US policy decisions, legitimized in the name of ‘national security,’ may soon escalate tensions in Asia Pacific and could derail economic prospects in the US, Asia and worldwide. In the case of Trump, the need for inflated unitary executive power arose with the Mueller investigation, which restricted the president’s strategic maneuverability to operate with the Republican Congress in 2017-2018 but permitted actions that required only executive power, typically in tax and trade policy. Executive power and the ‘state of exception’What looms behind the Trump White House in the 21st century is a tradition of conservative thought relying on the unitary executive theory in American constitutional law, which deems that the President possesses the power to control the entire executive branch. Imperial presidency will do – even the sovereign’s executive power may suffice. Citing diffuse national security reasons, the White House defends its tariffs under the GATT Article XXI; the so-called “national security exception.”After half a century of increasing global interdependency, such policy mistakes can derail even global economic prospects.

Source: Manila Times May 19, 2019 16:41 UTC