In his 1850 book The Law, Frédéric Bastiat lays out what he believes should be the function of the State: the defense of our natural rights, and nothing more. Bastiat spoke fondly of the United States, which he believed best conformed to this standard at the time, but wrote that even they violated liberty in two ways:

“What are these two issues? They are slavery and tariffs. These are the only two issues where, contrary to the general spirit of the republic of the United States, law has assumed the character of a plunderer.

Slavery is a violation, by law, of liberty. The protective tariff is a violation, by law, of property.”

The Law by Frédéric Bastiat

Thankfully, the United States has since eliminated one of these violations. Tariffs, however, still remain (I don’t think Bastiat would be too happy about the income tax established in 1913 either). I do not intend this article to be a critique of tariffs in general, however. Here, I will speak on one particularly disturbing issue: tariffs by executive authority.

Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution makes it clear that the power to levy taxes and tariffs belongs to Congress:

“The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises…”

“To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes…”

Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States

In the centuries since the writing of the Constitution however, Congress has delegated more and more of this power to the President. The Trade Expansion Act of 1962 authorized the President to limit the importation of articles that were deemed a threat to national security. The Trade Act of 1974 further empowered the President, allowing them to impose tariffs if a surge in imports threatened domestic industry. Finally, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 allowed the President to regulate imports after the declaration of an emergency.

All in all, these acts from Congress result in the President effectively possessing the power to levy tariffs unilaterally, as is recently evident. A threat to security or an “emergency” is easy to manufacture. What is so dangerous about the President possessing this power rather than Congress though? Well, while tyranny by a legislative body is certainly possible, it arises much easier in a single person. History provides countless examples of this. For the individual tyrant, taxes and tariffs are a powerful tool of oppression.

A president with the power to levy taxes becomes a king. He can punish those who oppose him, targeting their industries and businesses, and thus their wallets. The economic elites of the nation find themselves forced to support him, or else face retaliation. Speak out against your ruler? Find your business ruined. Other nations are compelled to massage the president’s ego, or offer blatant bribes, in order to obtain better trade deals. Long-lasting alliances are ruined for nothing. Free trade ceases to exist.

Even if the president does not intentionally utilize tariffs in this manner, their flippant and careless use destabilizes the economy, a burden felt by the poor more than anyone else. Legislation by Congress is often criticized for being slow and inefficient, but when it comes to preserving liberty an inefficient government is often best! I would much prefer the slow (or nonexistent!) levying of tariffs to the fast and reckless application we have now.

The Founding Fathers understood that the power of taxation must always belong to a legislature of representatives. The legislature has since delegated this power to the president, however, in the name of security and efficiency. This is a story that has been often repeated throughout history, unfortunately. If we wish to exit this path to monarchy, Congress must retake this power. We must reembrace the Constitution.

Sources

• https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution/constitution.htm#a1
• https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-congress-delegates-its-tariff-powers-to-the-president
• https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-does-the-executive-branch-have-so-much-power-over-tariffs/