Our Amicus Brief in the Section 122 Tariff Case

This is an advocacy piece from Reason presenting an amicus brief filed by the Cato Institute (libertarian think tank) and the author challenging Trump's tariff authority on constitutional grounds. The framing centers anti-executive-power arguments, citing major questions doctrine and nondelegation doctrine concerns. The sourcing is entirely internal to the libertarian legal/policy ecosystem (Cato, Liberty Justice Center, academic legal reasoning), with no opposing views, government defense, or pro-tariff economic perspectives included.

Primary voices: think tank (Cato Institute), NGO or civil society (Liberty Justice Center), academic or expert (legal scholars cited in case law), media outlet (Reason publishing the brief)

• This article does not address the Trump administration's justification or legal theory for Section 122 tariffs.
• This article does not include perspectives from trade economists on the balance-of-payments claims underlying the tariffs.
• This article does not present arguments from pro-tariff legal scholars or competing constitutional interpretations.
• This article does not explain what 'balance-of-payments disequilibrium' means in current economic conditions or whether any legitimate case exists for invoking Section 122.