Federal District Court Issues Another Ruling Against Trump’s IEEPA Tariffs
Yesterday, the US Court of International Trade (CIT) issued a unanimous ruling in the case against Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs filed by Liberty Justice Center and myself on behalf of five small businesses. The ruling also covers the related case filed by twelve states led by Oregon (those plaintiffs also won). See my summary and discussion of the CIT decision here. Today, we have another federal court decision against the Trump’s attempts to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) tariffs:Â Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump.
It was issued on by Judge Rudolph Contreras of the federal District Court for the District of Columbia (DDC), in Unlike the CIT ruling, it applies only to tariffs imposed against the two toy manufacturers that brought the case. But it is notable that Judge Contreras concluded IEEPA doesn’t grant the president the power to impose tariffs at all, thereby going further than the CIT decision does. If it did grant the sweeping authority claimed by Trump, Judge Contreras, like the CIT panel, noted that would be an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power, and “render IEEPA unconstitutional.” While the impact of the DDC ruling is very limited, it further bolsters the case against Trump’s abusive tariff power grab.
In our case, we too argued that IEEPA doesn’t grant any power to impose tariffs at all. The CIT decision equivocates on that issue, limiting itself to holding that IEEPA at least doesn’t grant the sweeping virtually unlimited power claimed by Trump, and necessary to justify the “Liberation Day” tariffs. By contrast, Judge Contreras concludes that IEEPA doesn’t grant any tariff authority of any kind. Here is an excerpt from his ruling:
Since the Founding, the Constitution has vested the “Power to lay and collect Taxes,
Duties, Imposts and Excises” with Congress. U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 1. The President has no independent discretion to impose or alter tariffs. See Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579, 585 (195
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