That is what economic warfare looks like in 2026. The administration reached for Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, an authority that had never been used by any president, according to Axios. That is the same Depression-era tariff law that historians blame for helping deepen the worst economic collapse this country ever endured. The Associated Press reported the move risks unleashing a fresh wave of higher inflation. Several Democratic lawmakers proposed repealing Section 338 last year precisely because they warned a president could use it to destabilize the economy, according to the Associated Press.