AIIS Appeals to Supreme Court in Constitutional Challenge of Section 232 Tariffs

The American Institute for International Steel has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court in its challenge to the constitutionality of Section 232 tariffs. The petition for certiorari asks, “Is section 232 facially unconstitutional on the ground that it lacks any boundaries that confine the President’s discretion to impose tariffs on imported goods and, therefore, constitutes an improper delegation of legislative authority and a violation of the principle of separation of powers established by the Constitution?” If the case succeeds, “it would preclude the President from relying on section 232 at all,” the brief says. The Court of International Trade and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit both ruled that Supreme Court precedent from the 1970s requires a finding that the tariffs are constitutional (see 2002280058). AIIS hopes to get a decision on whether the Supreme Court will hear the case by the court’s summer recess, said its lawyer, Alan Morrison of George Washington University Law School.