In a recent policy brief Trump’s Use of Emergency Powers to Impose Tariffs is an Abuse of Power, Georgetown Law Professor Jennifer Hillman examines the legality of President Trump’s February 2025 tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Hillman argues that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose broad-based tariffs and that doing so violates the constitutional delegation of tariff authority to Congress.
Hillman’s analysis centers on the Major Questions Doctrine (MQD), which requires clear congressional authorization for executive actions of significant economic and political impact. She cites West Virginia v. EPA to argue that Congress did not delegate tariff-setting authority through IEEPA. The brief also highlights that past trade statutes, such as the Tariff Act of 1930 and the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, contain explicit procedural safeguards absent from IEEPA.
The brief critiques the administration’s failure to establish a rational connection between the declared national emergency—fentanyl trafficking and illegal migration—and the imposed tariffs. Hillman contrasts Trump’s actions with President Nixon’s temporary and targeted tariff measures under the Trading with the Enemy Act, arguing that Trump’s across-the-board tariffs lack statutory support.
Hillman concludes that the tariffs exceed the president’s authority, violate trade agreements, and risk economic and diplomatic consequences. She asserts that using IEEPA in this manner undermines congressional control over trade policy and sets a precedent for unchecked executive action.
While True Believers may find the title pearl-clutching, defenders of constitutional order are reminded that Articles One and Three add up to twice Number Two.
“Trump’s Use of Emergency Powers to Impose Tariffs is an Abuse of Power”.
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