The White House's preferred economic tools are hitting snags

Key Points:

• The Trump administration's use of export controls and tariffs to protect U.S. economic security has faced significant challenges, including delays and inefficiencies that have cost American businesses billions in lost sales.
• Export license approvals by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) are experiencing delays exceeding one year, far beyond the 90-day policy guideline, due to unclear policy direction and leadership turnover.
• Mixed signals from the administration—oscillating between protecting national security and promoting U.S. business abroad—have confused enforcement agencies, with BIS leadership personally screening all export license applications, creating bottlenecks.
• Tariffs have also been undermined by legal setbacks, including a Supreme Court ruling limiting presidential authority under IEEPA, and widespread fraud such as transshipment and underreporting of goods' value, costing the U.S. billions annually.
• Data indicates a significant discrepancy between China's reported exports to the U.S. and U.S. import records, alongside declining cargo values, suggesting non-physical methods are being used to evade tariffs rather than actual supply chain shifts.