Policy Forum 

# Presidential Tariff Authorities and the Need for Reform 

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Date and Time 

July 23, 2025 3 - 4 PM EDT 

Location 

Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 

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##### Featuring 

![Rep. Suzan DelBene (D‑WA) - circle](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-04/rep-Suzan-DelBene-circle.jpg?itok=eyV9pPwq) 

Rep. Suzan DelBene (D‑WA) 

US House of Representatives

[ 

](https://twitter.com/RepDelBene) 

[![Scott Lincicome cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-10/scott-lincicome-square.jpg?itok=qnTH2GB_)](/people/scott-lincicome) 

[Scott Lincicome](/people/scott-lincicome)

Vice President, General Economics and Stiefel Trade Policy Center, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/scottlincicome) [ 

](mailto:slincicome@cato.org) 

Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution grants Congress the sole power to “lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises” and to regulate commerce with foreign countries. Today, however, Congress has broadly delegated its tariff powers to the executive branch via several laws that give the president vast, discretionary authority to impose sweeping trade restrictions with little, if any, input or oversight by the other branches of government, US trading partners, or the American public. Recent tariffs increasingly call such delegations into question.

Join us for a fireside chat with Rep. Suzan DelBene (D‑WA) and the Cato Institute’s Scott Lincicome on the implications of unchecked executive tariff powers and how Congress can reclaim its constitutionally mandated authority.

**Reception to follow.**

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