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Tariffs

My New Dispatch Article on Trump's Section 301 "Forced Labor" Tariffs

The article explains why the new tariffs are harmful and illegal for many of same reasons as those invalidated by the Supreme Court.

Ilya Somin | 8.5.2026 8:47 AM

President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on "Liberation Day" (Michael Brochstein/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom)

Today, The Dispatch published my new article on Donald Trump's massive new Section 301 tariffs. Here is an excerpt:

President Donald Trump recently used Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose massive new tariffs on 60 U.S. trading partners, including the European Union, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and more. Imports from 41 trading partners will now face 12.5 percent tariffs, and the others will be subject to 10 percent levies.

In February, the Supreme Court invalidated Trump's International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) tariffs, which imposed tariffs of 10 percent or more on almost all U.S. trading partners… In a case I helped develop and litigate, the court's 6-3 decision held that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs and that the president could not legally claim unlimited tariff authority. With the new Section 301 tariffs, Trump seeks to circumvent the Learning Resources v. Trump decision and once again enact a broad trade war without congressional authorization.

Unlike IEEPA, Section 301 does authorize tariffs. But it sets limits that Trump's policy blatantly transgresses. Section 301(b), the provision Trump is relying on, allows the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to........

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