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Import-Export Clause
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Import-Export Clause
Article I, § 10, clause 2 of the United States Constitution, known as the Import-Export Clause, prevents the states, without the consent of Congress, from imposing tariffs on imports and exports above what is necessary for their inspection laws and secures for the federal government the revenues from all tariffs on imports and exports. Several nineteenth century Supreme Court cases applied this clause to duties and imposts on interstate imports and exports. In 1869, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Import-Export Clause only applied to imports and exports with foreign nations and did not apply to imports and exports with other states, although this interpretation has been questioned by modern legal scholars.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's [sic] inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul [sic] of the Congress.
— United States Constitution Article I, § 10, Clause 2
The United States were first organized under the Articles of Confederation, under which the states maintained significant autonomy while the national government was weak. Among the major weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation was the inability to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states and the inability of the national government to impose taxes. The national government lacked power to enforce acts of Congress and requests for money from the states were frequently ignored. The Articles of Confederation did contain a similar clause on state duties:
No State shall lay any imposts or duties, which may interfere with any stipulations in treaties, entered into by the united States in congress assembled, with any king, prince, or State, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by congress, to the courts of France and Spain.
Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could not effectively prevent states from imposing tariffs and regulations that conflicted with Congress' efforts to regulate trade with foreign nations. There was also considerable commercial strife between the states without major ports and those with major ports, which used tariffs on goods destined to other states to generate revenue. New Jersey, sandwiched between the ports in New York and Philadelphia, was compared to a "cask tapped at both ends"; North Carolina, located between the ports in Virginia and Charleston, was likened to "a patient bleeding at both stumps". Also, under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government did not have any secure funding.
The Import-Export Clause was adopted by the Constitutional Convention a few days after adopting the Export Clause, which prohibits the federal government from imposing taxes or duties on exports. The adoption of the Import-Export Clause received considerable debate, more so than the Export Clause or the Commerce Clause. The Constitutional Convention also decided that tariffs on imports was to be the main source of revenue for the federal government. In Federalist No. 12, Alexander Hamilton made the argument that tariffs on imports would need to be the primary source of revenue for the new federal government and that the federal government could more effectively impose tariffs on imports than the states could separately.
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Import-Export Clause
Article I, § 10, clause 2 of the United States Constitution, known as the Import-Export Clause, prevents the states, without the consent of Congress, from imposing tariffs on imports and exports above what is necessary for their inspection laws and secures for the federal government the revenues from all tariffs on imports and exports. Several nineteenth century Supreme Court cases applied this clause to duties and imposts on interstate imports and exports. In 1869, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Import-Export Clause only applied to imports and exports with foreign nations and did not apply to imports and exports with other states, although this interpretation has been questioned by modern legal scholars.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's [sic] inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul [sic] of the Congress.
— United States Constitution Article I, § 10, Clause 2
The United States were first organized under the Articles of Confederation, under which the states maintained significant autonomy while the national government was weak. Among the major weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation was the inability to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states and the inability of the national government to impose taxes. The national government lacked power to enforce acts of Congress and requests for money from the states were frequently ignored. The Articles of Confederation did contain a similar clause on state duties:
No State shall lay any imposts or duties, which may interfere with any stipulations in treaties, entered into by the united States in congress assembled, with any king, prince, or State, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by congress, to the courts of France and Spain.
Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could not effectively prevent states from imposing tariffs and regulations that conflicted with Congress' efforts to regulate trade with foreign nations. There was also considerable commercial strife between the states without major ports and those with major ports, which used tariffs on goods destined to other states to generate revenue. New Jersey, sandwiched between the ports in New York and Philadelphia, was compared to a "cask tapped at both ends"; North Carolina, located between the ports in Virginia and Charleston, was likened to "a patient bleeding at both stumps". Also, under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government did not have any secure funding.
The Import-Export Clause was adopted by the Constitutional Convention a few days after adopting the Export Clause, which prohibits the federal government from imposing taxes or duties on exports. The adoption of the Import-Export Clause received considerable debate, more so than the Export Clause or the Commerce Clause. The Constitutional Convention also decided that tariffs on imports was to be the main source of revenue for the federal government. In Federalist No. 12, Alexander Hamilton made the argument that tariffs on imports would need to be the primary source of revenue for the new federal government and that the federal government could more effectively impose tariffs on imports than the states could separately.