Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“Shortly after taking office in 2025, Trump claimed to have discovered a previously unnoticed delegation of extensive tariff authority in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law that does not mention import taxes and had never been used to impose them. That claim was rejected by every court that considered it. Last February, the Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs at all. But Trump had a backup plan: Hours after that decision, he announced another sweeping set of tariffs, this time relying on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. In May, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled that the new tariffs were illegal …. Trump then switched to Plan C, invoking Section 301 of the Trade Act …” (10/15/26)
https://reason.com/2026/10/15/a-third-round-of-legally-dubious-tariffs/