Presidential Tariff Powers and the Need for Reform

From the founding of the republic through the early 1930s, Congress set tariff rates through legislative revisions to the US tariff schedule. Low tariffs were initially imposed to raise revenue for the federal government, but tariffs became a tool to protect domestic producers from foreign competition. Today, Congress has broadly delegated its constitutional tariff powers to the president, and there is a real risk that the legislative and judicial branches would be unwilling or unable to check a future president’s abuse of US trade law as currently written.

In a recent briefing paper titled “Presidential Tariff Powers and the Need for Reform,” Cato scholars examine the current laws that might allow the president to impose broad tariffs without congressional input, as well as the reform options available to Congress for restoring balance between the legislative and executive branches.

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