Congress Must Enforce SCOTUS Limits on “Emergency” Tariffs

The Supreme Court of the United States has already ruled, in a 6–3 decision, that President Donald Trump cannot use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping global tariffs. Chief Justice John Roberts made clear that ambiguous statutory language cannot justify tariffs of vast economic and political significance. Tariffs are taxes. And under Article I of the Constitution, the power to tax belongs to Congress. Rather than accept that ruling, the president immediately imposed a new 10% global tariff — later raised to 15% — invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Section 122 authorizes temporary tariffs only in response to “large and serious United States balance-of-payments deficits.” A trade deficit is not the same thing. While the United States runs a trade deficit in goods and services, it does not have a balance-of-payments deficit. Because foreign capital flows into U.S. Treasury bonds, stocks, and other financial instruments, the overall balance of payments is effectively in equilibrium. The statutory trigger required by Section 122 simply does not exist. Even the administration has previously acknowledged this distinction in court filings, emphasizing that trade deficits are conceptually different from balance-of-payments deficits. The president cannot now collapse those terms to manufacture authority that Congress did not grant. Moreover, Section 122 allows tariffs for only 150 days absent congressional approval. If the administration intends to continue them, it must come to Congress. That is not a procedural technicality — it is the Constitution working as designed. This is no longer simply about tariff policy. It is about whether the executive branch can cycle through statutory theories whenever courts intervene, while publicly attacking the judiciary for enforcing limits. The Supreme Court has performed its duty under Article III. Congress must now perform its duty under Article I. I urge you to: • Publicly affirm that the executive must comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling. • Conduct immediate oversight hearings on the administration’s use of Section 122. • Clarify that Section 122 applies only in genuine balance-of-payments crises. • Reassert Congress’s exclusive authority over taxation and trade. • Ensure transparency regarding tariff revenues collected under unlawful authority. The separation of powers is not self-enforcing. When the Court draws a constitutional line, Congress must hold it.