Most of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration rely on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA). I’ve written a lot about the application of IEEPA to sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. I think what I said three years ago, supporting the caution of the Biden administration in the face of demands by radical friends of Ukraine for immediate action, applies to the tariffs issue as well. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the issue November 5. I’ve posted a piece on the Lawfare Blog explaining why that law doesn’t permit confiscations, taxes or tariffs, all powers that historically were thought to be incident to war powers approved by international law. Congress adopted IEEPA to separate war powers, which can only be used during declared wars, to other tools available to address international disputes. Check out the blog post for the argument; I’ll write more as we get closer to the oral argument.
The Illegality of Trump's tariffs.
