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Tariffs are taxes paid by the businesses and/or citizens of the country that imposes them, despite President Donald Trump’s statements to the contrary.
Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution assigns tariff power to Congress. It is clear that, over time, Congress has delegated much of its tariff authority and responsibility to the executive branch. I understand this has been done largely to allow the process of evaluating the need for — and executing — tariffs to function more rapidly and effectively.
I further understand that the Supreme Court has emphasized on multiple occasions that any such delegation of power must include an “intelligible principle” to direct and limit the president’s use of this authority. I take it that this means that although the president can negotiate and respond to immediate economic threats, imposing generalized tariffs, as Trump has done and continues to do, still requires congressional approval.
Given the above, I have sent letters to my three elected federal representatives asking them to clarify the “intelligible principle” behind Trump’s willy-nilly, roller coaster tariffs and to tell me why Congress is standing back and letting one man’s whims impose higher taxes on everyone in the U.S. and, in the process, wreck the faith of both U.S. citizens and the world in the American economy. I’m hoping that there will be some intelligible replies.
Donald Holmes
Sedgwick
