Are Trump’s Tariffs Constitutional?
The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) challenged the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports on Wednesday. The NCLA argues that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) has never been used before to impose tariffs because that is not what the act authorizes. In using this law to impose tariffs, the president overstepped his constitutional authority.
The NCLA filed the complaint on behalf of Simplified, a lifestyle brand based in Pensacola, Florida, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The company, which sells planners, notebooks, and stationery has been harmed by the tariffs, which have increased the price of materials it imports from China.
The complaint alleges that Trump’s executive orders raising tariffs on Chinese imports exceed the statutory authority of the IEEPA, and that a ruling upholding this assumed authority would violate the nondelegation doctrine, which prohibits Congress from transferring to other branches of government “powers which are strictly and exclusively legislative.” When Congress does delegate its power, it must provide an intelligible principle, i.e., “a legal framework to constrain the authority of the delegee.” The suit argues that the IEEPA contains no such principle vis-Ã -vis tariffs, which are nowhere mentioned in the statute.
The NCLA also argues that the IEEPA only authorizes the president to apply asset freezes, trade emb
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