# What would it take for Congress to take back its tariff powers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 12, 2025, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-congress-to-take-back-its-tariff-powers/1016959 "2025-04-12T13:34:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-congress-to-take-back-its-tariff-powers/1016959/21 "2025-04-13T07:05:17Z")
Taxation is the province of Congress. Trump tariffs and the recession which follows are a consequence of Republican policies, given their control of both the Presidency and legislature. Republicans support these job-crushing tax hikes; Democrats support free enterprise. Bipartisan legislation in the Senate seeks to curb the President’s power arbitrarily wielded power. NPR: [https://www.npr.org/2025/04/09/nx-s1-5354912/trump-tariffs-senate-bill-bipartisan](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/09/nx-s1-5354912/trump-tariffs-senate-bill-bipartisan) > Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa have introduced a bill requiring the president to notify Congress of impending tariffs within 48 hours. Congress would have to approve of the action within 60 days of notification. Seven Republican currently support the bill. It could pass the Senate. It probably won’t be taken up by the House, and Trump would veto it. Or he says he would. Passage of such a bill would create and reflect political pressures on its own. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-congress-to-take-back-its-tariff-powers/1016959/22 "2025-04-13T16:57:34Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > But, here’s the sad part that makes it all the more frustrating: those base constituents have become _accustomed_ to be hurting. That “white working class” has been getting undercut for so long by the system that the added pain will get a “so what else is new” reaction, and be attributed _to the system_ as opposed to Trump’s or their congress member’s policies I agree in part and disagree in part. I don’t think many of these people know what pain is. They haven’t been hurting, they’ve been fake screaming and crying about things like egg prices, like a toddler that wants mommy to know he’s really really mad, but the reality was the Biden economic policy had very little negative effect on them, if it did it was like a stubbed toe. It was mostly just an excuse for stupid memes. That’s why they are so enthusiastic about enduring a little pain for Trump, they are expecting, at worst, a little Biden era stubbed toe and they’ll be in for a surprise when their foot is chopped off. I will agree that they won’t blame the right people, it’ll be Biden and the Deep State and China. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-congress-to-take-back-its-tariff-powers/1016959/23 "2025-04-13T17:12:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Trump’s constituents will be hurting. They’ll know that they’re hurting. And they won’t know why they’re hurting. Worry not, TFG will have no problems convincing them it’s the fault of the Democrats, the Chinese, the Europeans or some combination thereof. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2025, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-congress-to-take-back-its-tariff-powers/1016959/24 "2025-04-15T04:38:57Z")
I’m not a lawyer, but if I’m correctly reading the act being used by Trump to impose the tariffs, it permits him to take certain actions after he declares an emergency, but tariffs are not specifically listed. Previous Supreme Court decisions made clear that if Congress wants to delegate one of their specifically assigned constitutional powers, they must do so explicitly. If this is the case, Trump is exercising powers he does not constitutionally have. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-congress-to-take-back-its-tariff-powers/1016959.md?page=1)