A Primer on Tariffs

Summary

Update alert: On review from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court held that International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) on which President Trump relied in issuing a Memorandum on February 13, 2025 “Reciprocal Trade and Tariffs” (90 Fed. Reg. 9837 (Feb. 19, 2025) does not authorize the President to impose tariffs, because tariffs are an exercise of Congress’s taxing power under Article I. The Court found no clear statutory authorization: IEEPA allows the President to “regulate … importation,” but does not mention “tariffs” or “duties,” and “regulate” ordinarily does not include taxation. Applying separation-of-powers principles (and, for some Justices, the major questions doctrine), the Court rejected an interpretation granting unbounded tariff power via emergency declarations. The D.C. case was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; the Federal Circuit decision was affirmed. Learning Res., Inc. v. Trump, 2026 U.S. LEXIS 714.