Capitol Hill Briefing 

# Presidential Tariff Powers and the Need for Reform 

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**If you have questions about the event or your registration, please email** [**events@​cato.​org**](mailto:events@cato.org)**.**

Date and Time 

December 10, 2024 11:30 AM - 1 PM EST 

Location 

Capitol Visitor Center, SVC 215 

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##### Featuring 

[![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

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](mailto:slincicome@cato.org) 

[![Clark Packard Square headshot](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2022-03/ClarkPackard_sq2.jpg?itok=6QwVlh1V)](/people/clark-packard) 

[Clark Packard](/people/clark-packard)

Research Fellow, Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, Cato Institute

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](mailto:cpackard@cato.org) 

![Warren H. Maruyama picture](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-12/warren-maruyama.jpeg?itok=uBFgeG25) 

Warren H. Maruyama 

Former Associate Director for International Economic Policy; Former USTR General Counsel

From the founding of the republic through the early 1930s, Congress set tariff rates through legislative revisions to the US tariff schedule. Low tariffs were initially imposed to raise revenue for the federal government, but tariffs became a tool to protect domestic producers from foreign competition. Today, Congress has broadly delegated its constitutional tariff powers to the president, and there is a real risk that the legislative and judicial branches would be unwilling or unable to check a future president’s abuse of US trade law as currently written.

In a recent briefing paper titled “[Presidential Tariff Powers and the Need for Reform](https://www.cato.org/briefing-paper/presidential-tariff-powers-need-reform),” Cato scholars examine the current laws that might allow the president to impose broad tariffs without congressional input, as well as the reform options available to Congress for restoring balance between the legislative and executive branches.

Please join the Cato Institute on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST at the US Capitol Visitor Center for a discussion examining presidential tariff powers and proposals for possible reform.

**Please Note: This will be an invitation-only event, and registration is required. Live webcast will be available to the public.**

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