Stanford’s Alan Sykes on the Future of Trump’s Tariffs After the IEEPA Case

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Mar 3, 2026

Alan Sykes, a law professor and international trade law expert, analyzes the Supreme Court ruling that IEEPA cannot be used to impose tariffs. He breaks down the statutory and constitutional questions, the Major Questions Doctrine, unusual justice alignments, and what might happen to collected tariffs and future trade tools. Short, clear, and focused legal unpacking.

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INSIGHT

IEEPA Tariffs Aimed At Coercing Foreign Help

The IEEPA tariffs were justified by the administration as tools to pressure foreign governments to interdict fentanyl, not as direct drug-control measures.
Alan Sykes explained the tariffs aimed to coerce China, Mexico, and Canada by imposing economic pain analogous to sanctions on adversaries.

INSIGHT

Court Rejects Tariffs Under IEEPA Due To Taxing Power

The Supreme Court held IEEPA did not authorize tariffs because 'regulate importation' does not clearly include the power to tax.
The majority warned delegating taxing power to the president would let the executive raise revenue without clear congressional authorization.

INSIGHT

Major Questions Doctrine Shaped The Majority Opinion

The decision split 6–3 with a three‑justice bloc emphasizing the Major Questions Doctrine and the 'birthright of Congress' over taxing authority.
Roberts, Gorsuch, and Barrett stressed you'd expect explicit words like 'tariff' or 'tax' if Congress meant to delegate that power.

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When President Trump declared a national emergency and imposed sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), businesses challenged the move, arguing the president did not have authority under that statute to impose tariffs. The Supreme Court recently agreed.

On this episode of Stanford Legal, co-host Professor Pamela Karlan sits down with international trade expert Alan Sykes, professor of law and Warren Christopher Professor in the Practice of International Law and Diplomacy, to unpack the Court’s 6–3 decision. Sykes is a leading expert on the application of economics to legal problems and the author of the book The Law and Economics of International Trade Agreements.

At the heart of the case, Sykes explains, was the question of whether a statute that allows the president to “regulate importation” can be stretched to authorize taxes on imports. The majority said no, emphasizing that the Constitution assigns the taxing power to Congress, and that if Congress intended to hand that power over, it would have said so clearly. The conversation explores the statutory arguments, the role of the Major Questions Doctrine, and the unusual alignments among the justices.

But the ruling raises as many questions as it answers, Sykes notes. What happens to billions in tariffs already collected? Do international trade deals struck in the shadow of these tariffs still stand? And with other statutory tools available is this really the end of the tariff saga, or just the next chapter?

Links:

Alan O. Sykes >>> Stanford Law page
The Law and Economics of International Trade Agreements >>> Stanford Law page

Connect:

Episode Transcripts >>> Stanford Legal Podcast Website
Stanford Legal Podcast >>> LinkedIn Page
Rich Ford >>> Twitter/X
Pam Karlan >>> Stanford Law School Page
Diego Zambrano >>> Stanford Law School Page
Stanford Law School >>> Twitter/X
Stanford Lawyer Magazine >>> Twitter/X

(00:00:00) Tariffs and IEEPA

(00:10:53) Statutory text and the history of tariffs

(00:13:54) “Regulate importation” and the Major Questions Doctrine

(00:17:56) Liquidation Timing, finality, and the 314‑day rule

(00:19:11) The Court of International Trade

(00:29:53) From IEEPA to Section 122 and what’s next under Section 301

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