Tariffs Struck Down by Court of Appeals

Our legal system, dedicated to the rule of law, is not intended to allow for the broad assertions of almost unlimited Presidential power that the current Administration has claimed.  Authority is divided between our three co-equal branches, and between the federal government and the states. 

We were therefore pleased to see, right before the start of the Labor Day weekend, that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit struck down the main portion of the Administration’s tariff program, as beyond the authority granted by the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).  The Administration’s tariffs have been primarily justified by IEEPA on the basis of their being an international economic emergency brought about by trade deficits and the steady decline of American manufacturing. 

Aside from the question of whether multi-generational economic challenges can constitute an “emergency,” the fact is that IEEPA doesn’t mention tariffs at all, and the Constitution expressly authorizes Congress to levy tariffs, not the President, at least not unilaterally.  And yet the Administration has claimed its authorization under the IEEPA, including the authority to set tariff levels; to postpone or adjust those levels; and to use the mere fact of tariffs as a lever to negotiate individualized international economic agreements of a wide variety.  It is difficult to see how Congress intended, in passing the IEEPA, to grant such unilateral authority to the President. 

There are separate statutes granting other tariff authority to the President, so the Court’s ruling won’t eliminate the Administration’s tariffs in their entirety, although it is certainly true that at least some of those other tariff authorizations are limited in time unless extended by Congress.  It is also true that the Court stayed its ruling until early October, to give the Supreme Court the opportunity to consider the matter at the start of its new Term.  We are nevertheless pleased that this Court has acted to constrain the virtually unlimited assertions of Presidential powers over tariffs that the Administration has asserted. 

About the New York County Lawyers Association
The New York County Lawyers Association (www.nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as one of the first major bar associations in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, or gender. Since its inception, it has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence and has continuously played an active role in legal developments and public policy.

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