Article I of the Constitution assigns Congress—not the president—the authority to “lay and collect” tariffs and regulate foreign commerce. In practice, President Trump has asserted that Congress delegated much of that power through a patchwork of statutes, including Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, Section 122 of the Trade Reform Act of 1974, and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Over time, Trump and previous presidents have expanded the use of these authorities well beyond their original scope. What were meant to be limited tools have become a standing workaround, allowing the president to impose tariffs without congressional approval.
Since January 2025, the executive branch has repeatedly invoked emergency and national security authorities to impose sweeping tariffs, generating an estimated $175 billion in revenue. Even when courts intervene—as in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, where the Supreme Court held that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs—the underlying problem remains. Within hours of that ruling, the Administration shifted to Section 232 to continue imposing tariffs.
As long as Congress permits broad and ambiguous tariff authorities to remain on the books, they will continue to be stretched and expanded. Court decisions may slow that trend, but they may not definitively resolve it. Restoring meaningful limits on tariff policy ultimately requires Congress to reclaim the authority it has delegated away. Several bills have been introduced to accomplish this.
Category 1: Broad Congressional Approval Requirements
These bills require Congress to approve tariffs before or shortly after they are imposed, fundamentally shifting decision-making power back to the legislative branch.
S.1272 / H.R.2665 (Trade Review Act of 2025)
Sponsors:
- Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and 12 cosponsors
- Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) and eight cosponsors
These companion bills establish a straightforward accountability mechanism that creates a default expiration system for executive tariffs. The president must notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing or increasing any tariff, and those tariffs automatically expire after 60 days unless Congress passes a resolution approving them.
S.1293 (No Taxation Without Representation Act of 2025)
Sponsor:
- Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
This bill would require the president to obtain congressional approval before imposing any tariff on imported goods. Under the bill, the president could only impose a duty if two conditions are met: 1) submitting a formal proposal to Congress that includes a rationale for the tariff, and 2) having that proposal enacted into law through a joint resolution of approval. This requirement would apply across a broad range of existing statutory authorities—including the Tariff Act of 1930, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and tariffs imposed under trade agreements.
H.R. 2888 - Stopping a Rogue President on Trade Act
Sponsor:
- Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) and 39 cosponsors.
With limited exceptions, the act would require Congress to pass a joint resolution of approval for the president to impose or increase a duty, quota, or tariff-rate quota or to suspend, withdraw, or prevent the application of trade agreement concessions with respect to an article.
S.1060 (Global Trade Accountability Act)
Sponsor:
- Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)
The Global Trade Accountability Act was first introduced in 2017. It would have required congressional approval before any unilateral executive trade action—tariffs, import bans, or quotas—can take effect. It applies broadly across the major statutes presidents have used to act unilaterally, including Section 338, Section 232, IEEPA, the Trading with the Enemy Act, and trade agreement laws, making it one of the most sweeping reassertions of congressional trade authority among current proposals.
Category 2: Section 232 (National Security Tariffs)
These bills specifically target Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the president to impose tariffs on imports deemed to threaten national security. This provision has been broadly used for tariffs on steel, aluminum, and automobiles.
H.R.1903 (Congressional Trade Authority Act of 2025)
Sponsor:
- Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA), and 19 cosponsors
This bill amends Section 232 to impose stricter constraints on executive trade power by narrowing the definition of what constitutes a national security threat and limiting the types of imports the president can restrict under national security justifications. The legislation reasserts congressional oversight by requiring congressional review and approval for Section 232 tariff actions and establishes a narrower delegation of authority from Congress to the executive branch. This prevents the president from using vague national security claims to impose tariffs on consumer goods, automobiles, or other products not genuinely related to military readiness or defense industrial base concerns. The legislation builds on similar bills that have been introduced since 2018, such as the Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act.
H.R.2712 (Reclaiming Congressional Trade Authority Act of 2025)
Sponsor:
- Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ)
This bill takes a dual approach to limiting executive tariff authority by restricting both the president’s authority to impose tariffs for national security purposes under Section 232 and constraining the U.S. Trade Representative’s ability to impose trade duties under various trade statutes.
For national-security duties, the president must submit the proposal to the International Trade Commission (ITC) for an economic impact assessment, provide a Defense Department justification to Congress, and obtain a joint resolution of approval—though a 120-day emergency window is preserved for urgent action. For Section 301 tariffs, the bill requires an ITC impact report, congressional notification, a 60-day pause, and exposure to a fast-tracked congressional disapproval vote.
Category 3: Emergency Powers Restrictions (IEEPA)
These bills close loopholes that allow presidents to use emergency economic powers or special statutory authorities to impose tariffs without going through normal trade procedures.
H.R.407 (Prevent Tariff Abuse Act)
Sponsor:
- Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) and 72 cosponsors.
This legislation specifically targets the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by prohibiting the president from using IEEPA to impose tariffs or import quotas, while preserving other IEEPA powers such as blocking financial transactions, freezing assets, and prohibiting imports entirely through all-or-nothing bans. IEEPA was designed for genuine national emergencies like terrorism and international conflicts, and this bill ensures it cannot be repurposed as a general tariff authority that bypasses congressional oversight and normal trade law procedures.
S.2413 (Trade Certainty Act of 2019)
Sponsor:
- Former Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE) and 7 cosponsors
This bill would have limited the president’s authority to use emergency economic powers to impose duties or tariffs or import quotas on items entering the United States.
Category 4: Section 338 (Reciprocal Tariffs on Discriminatory Countries）
Section 338 is a provision of the Tariff Act of 1930 that authorizes the president to impose retaliatory tariffs (up to 50%) or even outright bans on imports from countries that discriminate against U.S. commerce. Specifically, it targets foreign nations that impose unreasonable duties, restrictions, or regulations on American goods that aren’t applied equally to goods from other countries.
H.R.2464 (Repealing Outdated and Unilateral Tariff Authorities Act)
Sponsor:
- Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and 10 cosponsors.
This bill repeals Section 388 of the Trade Act, which currently allows the president to unilaterally impose tariffs on countries deemed to discriminate against U.S. commerce.
Category 5: Section 122 (Balance of Payments Surcharges)
Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 authorizes the president to impose a temporary import surcharge of up to 15%—or apply import quotas—for up to 150 days to address large and serious U.S. balance-of-payments deficits or to prevent an imminent and significant depreciation of the dollar. President Trump imposed 10% tariffs on several imports under Section 122. On May 7, the United States Court of International Trade ruled that these tariffs were unauthorized by law. The Trump Administration has appealed this decision.
H.R.2459 / S.4049 (Reclaim Trade Powers Act)
Sponsors:
- Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and 20 cosponsors
- Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and 14 cosponsors
The Reclaim Trade Powers Act repeals Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, eliminating the president’s authority to impose up to a 15% tariff for 150 days in response to balance-of-payments deficits.
H.R.8228 (Stop Global Tariffs Act)
Sponsor:
- Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Don Bacon (R-NE), and Linda Sanchez (D-CA).
This bill would terminate the 10% tariffs imposed on February 20 and prohibit similar proclamations. It would also require the government to refund any tariffs that have been collected pursuant to the February 20 action.
Category 6: Tariffs on Allies and Trade Partners
These bills specifically target tariffs imposed on U.S. allies, NATO members, and countries with free trade agreements with the United States.
S.348 (STABLE Trade Policy Act)
Sponsor:
- Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)
This bill requires the president to obtain congressional approval before imposing or increasing tariffs on imports from “covered countries”—specifically, NATO member countries, major non-NATO allies designated under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (such as Australia, Israel, and Japan), and countries with which the U.S. has a free trade agreement.
The president must submit a detailed request to Congress that includes a description of the objective, an explanation of why diplomatic engagement cannot achieve the same goal, an assessment of the impact on U.S. foreign policy and national security interests, and an assessment of the economic impact. The bill applies to tariffs imposed under Section 232, Section 338, the Trading with the Enemy Act, and IEEPA.
H.R.2842 (Stop Raising Prices on Food Act)
Sponsor:
- Rep. Adam Gray (D-CA) and Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA)
This bill requires the president to obtain congressional approval before imposing or increasing tariffs on imports from the five countries that send the largest volumes of agricultural goods to the United States each year (with the European Union and its member states treated as a single country). Rather than restricting executive tariff authority broadly, the bill narrowly targets U.S. food supply, aiming to prevent unilateral tariffs on top agricultural trading partners from driving up grocery prices for American consumers.
H.R. 7557 (Respect NATO Allies Act)
Sponsor:
- Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA) and Rep. Michael R.Turner (R-OH)
This bill prohibits the president from imposing or increasing tariffs, duties, or quotas on articles imported from a NATO member state unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of approval. This bill aims to protect the economic and strategic stability of the NATO alliance by ensuring that any trade restrictions on these key allies undergo a formal legislative review and approval process. Duties imposed for trade agreement dispute settlement, temporary “safeguard” tariffs imposed under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974, and duties imposed as a result of antidumping or countervailing duty investigations would be exempt from the requirement for a congressional vote.
Category 7: Transparency and Reporting Requirements
These bills require reporting on the costs and impacts of tariffs rather than restricting tariff authority directly.
H.R.6888 (Trump Tariff Transparency Act)
Sponsor:
- Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), Rep. Hillary J. Scholten (D-MI), and Rep. Haley M. Stevens (D-MI)
The bill requires the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to investigate and report to Congress on the costs of tariffs imposed on an emergency or discretionary basis by the president. Unlike the other bills which restrict or require approval for tariff imposition, this legislation focuses on transparency and accountability by mandating comprehensive reporting on how executive tariffs affect small businesses and consumers.
Conclusion
Through the proliferation of these bills, Congress is confronting a problem it created: it spent decades delegating trade authority through statutes designed for narrow, temporary use, and the executive branch has exploited that ambiguity to its functional limits. As recent history shows, judicial intervention offers only a temporary check, but a determined administration can simply pivot between statutes to sustain a tariff regime.
Ultimately, this trend represents a serious effort to shift away from executive autonomy and toward institutional accountability. The only lasting fix is for Congress to take back what it gave away, whether through approval requirements, statutory repeals, or new oversight structures. Without legislative intervention, these broad and ambiguous authorities will remain available to any future administration, regardless of party, to bypass the constitutional role of the legislature.