The Week: Tariffs in the Dock

• They say the best TACOs are made in Trump Tower.

• President Trump’s tariff policy—declaring bogus national emergencies as a pretense to unilaterally author tax policy on all imports under the authority of a law that has never before been used to implement tariffs—was always unconstitutional. Congress should have acted against Trump’s usurpation of legislative authority, but it failed to do so. Big businesses that would have faced the most harm should have taken the administration to court, but they were more interested in cozying up to Trump than challenging him. So the task of holding the executive branch accountable fell to small businesses represented by libertarian public-interest law firms. One of those lawsuits, brought by Liberty Justice Center, succeeded at the U.S. Court of International Trade, with three judges, including one appointed by Reagan and one appointed by Trump, ruling unanimously that Trump’s tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unconstitutional. The court used the major questions doctrine and nondelegation doctrine as part of its justification, and it cited the Supreme Court case that overturned Chevron deference in its decision. The decision has been temporarily stayed pending appeal. But it’s heartening to see that in the face of a massive power grab by the president, Americans can still go to court, point to the Constitution, and win.

About the Author

NR Editors

NR Editors includes members of the editorial staff of our magazine and website.

Featured Tags

Manage following

Trade

Harvard University

• They say the best TACOs are made in Trump Tower.

• President Trump’s tariff policy—declaring bogus national emergencies as a pretense to unilaterally author tax policy on all imports under the authority of a law that has never before been used to implement tariffs—was always unconstitutional. Congress should have acted against Trump’s usurpation of legislative authority, but it failed to do so. Big businesses that would have faced the most harm should have taken the administration to court, but they were more interested in cozying up to Trump than challenging him. So the task of holding the executive branch accountable fell to small businesses represented by libertarian public-interest law firms. One of those lawsuits, brought by Liberty Justice Center, succeeded at the U.S. Court of International Trade, with three judges, including one appointed by Reagan and one appointed by Trump, ruling unanimously that Trump’s tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unconstitutional. The court used the major questions doctrine and nondelegation doctrine as part of its justification, and it cited the Supreme Court case that overturned Chevron deference in its decision. The decision has been temporarily stayed pending appeal. But it’s heartening to see that in the face of a massive power grab by the president, Americans can still go to court, point to the Constitution, and win.