“The government, which was designed for the people, has gotten into the hands of the bosses and their employers, the special interests. An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of democracy," said former US President Woodrow Wilson, who was the architect of multilateralism through the League of Nations.

His presidency coincided with the progressive era in American history, a time marked by significant socio-political reforms. He guided the U.S. economy through World War I, during which the Congress enacted a series of laws designed to grant the President emergency powers, with the Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917 (TWEA) being the most notable.

The demands of wartime prompted the President to implement sanctions and economic restrictions, leading to the enactment of TWEA. This legislation empowers the President to manage or limit all trade between the United States and its adversaries during wartime.

Throughout the 20th century, the Congress increasingly conferred emergency powers to the President through various statutes, including TWEA. Enacted in 1917, TWEA was intended to regulate international dealings with enemy nations following the U.S. entry into World War I. In the 1930s, the Congress broadened the act to enable the President to declare a national emergency even in peacetime, thereby granting extensive authority over both domestic and international transactions.

From 1945 to the early 1970s, TWEA became a primary tool for imposing sanctions as part of the US Cold War strategy. Presidents utilised TWEA to obstruct international financial transactions, seize assets held by foreign nationals within the U.S., restrict exports, adjust regulations to prevent gold hoarding, limit foreign direct investment in American companies, and impose tariffs on all imports into the United States. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) further extends the........

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