I’ll be blunt. As a free-market conservative, I think tariffs are a bad deal. And what has happened to stock markets around the world (and my retirement savings) was completely unnecessary.
Yet, even if you agree with President Donald Trump and think tariffs are the best thing ever, should one man have the power to tank stocks and start trade wars that may not end anytime soon?
I think not.
In issuing such sweeping taxes on imported goods, Trump has clearly tested the limits of his presidential power. The authority to levy and collect taxes and tariffs lies with Congress – at least according to the Constitution.
On Wednesday, Trump announced a pause on the tariffs he imposed on most countries, but kept in place extraordinarily high tariffs on China. Stock markets in the United States rallied in response.
Over the years, Congress has delegated much of its tariff power to the president, but no one has tested those bounds to the extent Trump is now.
It’s time for lawmakers to take back that control, and a few are seeking to do that. More on this shortly.
I spent the past four years writing about how former President Joe Biden repeatedly abused his executive authority, in large part because he kept the country in an “emergency” related to the COVID-19 pandemic so he could bypass Congress.
Trump shouldn’t follow that same playbook.
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And it’s hard to keep up with everything that’s coming from the White House. He’s issued more than 100 executive orders, and it appears that he’s just getting started.
Many of those presidential actions are fine – even good. Trump, however, must avoid falling into the trap Biden did of relying too much on his unilateral authority as president.
We have three branches of government because our Founding Fathers wanted to avoid giving too much power to one individual.
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The courts thankfully stepped in multiple times during Biden’s presidency, halting some of his most outrageous actions, including his $400 billion student loan giveaway.
They’re likely to have a say with tariffs, too, if Trump keeps these taxes in place for any length of time. There’s already been at least one lawsuit filed by a conservative group challenging Trump’s tariffs.
Oliver Dunford, senior attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation and an expert in the separation of powers, said there’s a “slippery slope” of presidents pushing the bounds of their office.
“The previous presidents have done this and each president claims frankly as much power as you can,” Dunford told me. “And the excuse is often Congress won’t do anything, and in this case, Trump is claiming an emergency for the tariffs.”
Here’s an idea: Congress should step up and do its job.
Trump declared a national emergency over the trade deficit and is the first president to invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify the tariffs.
Some lawmakers are pushing back on this new interpretation of the law.
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This week, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul introduced a bipartisan resolution to terminate Trump’s emergency declaration and to force the president to work with Congress.
“Tariffs are taxes, and the power to tax belongs to Congress − not the president,” Paul said in a statement. “Our Founders were clear: tax policy should never rest in the hands of one person. Abusing emergency powers to impose blanket tariffs not only drives up costs for American families but also tramples on the Constitution. It’s time Congress reasserts its authority and restores the balance of power.”
Other bipartisan legislation in the Senate, the Trade Review Act of 2025, would require Congress to approve new tariffs within 60 days. So far, it doesn’t have enough Republican support. And Trump has said that he’d veto it if it ever reached his desk.
Republicans who know better but are afraid to stand up to Trump’s tariff dream (and MAGA cheerleaders) should keep in mind the bigger issues at play.
If Trump gets away with this trampling of the separation of powers, you can bet the next Democratic president will do the same.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques
Are you mad Trump started a global trade war? Tell Congress to do its job. | Opinion – USA Today
