October 24, 2025
RALEIGH —The John Locke Foundation is proud to partner with the Goldwater Institute in a newly filed amicus at the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) addressing critical legal issues surrounding the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), specifically regarding the unilateral imposition of a series of tariffs by the executive branch.
The case, a consolidation of multiple constitutional challenges of the Trump administration’s tariffs regime, combines Learning Resources, Inc., et al., v. Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, et al. (Case No. 24-1287) and Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, et al., Petitioners v. V.O.S. Selections, Inc., et al. (Case No. 25-250),
The brief argues that for IEEPA’s powers to be invoked, a genuine emergency must exist, as mandated by 50 U.S.C. § 1701. It asserts that the President lacks authority to declare an emergency where none exists, a determination the High Court is both authorized and obligated to review.
The filing further highlights that chronic issues like trade deficits and drug-smuggling, which Congress has historically addressed through standard legislative processes, do not constitute an emergency sufficient to warrant extraordinary measures. Moreover, the brief contends that even in an emergency, IEEPA contains no clear statement granting the President limitless power to declare an emergency and impose taxes on Americans at any rate and for as long as he wants. Such an extraordinary shift of constitutional power would deviate from constitutional norms to such an extreme degree that it requires an explicit statement to that effect in the statute.
Additionally, the filing points out that the IEEPA fails the “intelligible principle” test due to its lack of guidelines limiting executive authority, unlike other tariff statutes that provide specific calculations or an “on/off” switch for tariff implementation. The brief emphasizes that the lack of such limitations or guidelines demonstrates IEEPA was not designed to empower the President to impose tariffs.
“Locke is proud to join the Goldwater Institute on this amicus brief to defend small businesses, free markets, and the Constitution’s guarantee of separation of powers, regardless of who is in office,” said Jessica Thompson, Director of Government Affairs and General Counsel for the John Locke Foundation, of the filing. “If past unilateral presidential action to mandate vaccines, impose a nationwide moratorium on evictions, forgive nearly a half billion dollars in student loan debt, or institute a new carbon emissions scheme concerned you in the past, you should be equally alarmed by this unconstitutional power grab.”