Cato Podcast The Supreme Court’s $300 Billion Tariff Showdown
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Nov 11, 2025 Brent Skorup, a legal fellow at the Cato Institute with expertise in constitutional law, joins Scott Lincicome to unpack a groundbreaking Supreme Court case on Trump's fentanyl tariffs. They tackle the implications of emergency tariffs on executive power and the constitutional separation of powers. Key discussions include the lack of procedural safeguards in the tariff system, the significance of Justice Gorsuch's probing questions, and the potential for Congress to reclaim its authority. With a broad coalition backing the importers, they share cautious optimism for a favorable outcome.
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Unprecedented Use Of IEPA For Tariffs
- President Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPA) to impose unprecedented emergency tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.
- The IEPA use marked a radical expansion of executive trade power with sweeping global tariffs in April.
Separation Of Powers At Stake
- Cato frames the case as a separation-of-powers dispute over Congress's exclusive tariff power.
- The core statutory phrase is whether "regulate importation" allows the president to set uncapped tariffs.
IEPA Lacks Traditional Tariff Safeguards
- Existing tariff statutes sit in Title 19 and include procedural and substantive limits like investigations and time caps.
- IEPA lacks those checks, enabling a president to declare emergencies and act broadly without usual safeguards.