Constitution Index · S.J.Res. 77 · 2025-09-16

A joint resolution terminating the national emergency declared to impose duties on articles imported from Canada.

Latest official status (2025-10-31): Held at the desk.

Official source ↗

Constitutional grade

A

Constitutional

SJRES 77 is constitutional. Congress uses its Article I foreign-commerce and duties powers to end an executive emergency tariff on Canada, removing a burden on peaceful exchange, restoring legislative process, and pushing power away from unilateral executive control. No rights infringement or overreach.

Article I Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 Article I, Section 1 Amendment I Amendment X Amendment IX Amendment V

SI-generated grade · passed automated checks (real Constitution citation, language rules) · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology · Report an error: hello@valuesforamerica.com

The five checks

Enumerated powers · passes

Congress holds explicit authority over foreign commerce under Article I, Section 8, Clause 3, and over duties under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1. Terminating a declared national emergency is also authorized by statute under the National Emergencies Act and reflects Congress exercising its Article I, Section 1 legislative power to check executive action. The joint resolution stays within enumerated authority and reasserts separation of powers.

Bill of Rights · passes

Terminates rather than imposes a burden; infringes no right under Amendments 1-10. To the contrary it removes a government-imposed restraint on peaceful exchange and on the First Amendment right to petition regarding trade policy. No speech, arms, search, trial, or other Bill of Rights interest is restricted. Cites First Amendment and Tenth Amendment.

Individual liberty · passes

Expands rather than restricts sovereignty over person, property, labor, and exchange by removing a 25 percent surcharge (10 percent on energy) on Canadian goods. American buyers, sellers, and workers regain freedom to contract across the border without the emergency penalty. Government bears the burden to justify trade restraints; no compelling constitutional justification for the emergency surcharge is preserved by this termination. Cites Ninth Amendment and Tenth Amendment retained rights.

Decentralization · passes

Foreign commerce with Canada cannot be handled by an individual, county, or single state without fragmentation and retaliation; the minimum necessary level is the federal government under Article I, Section 8, Clause 3. This measure does not consolidate upward -- it de-consolidates by ending a unilateral executive emergency regime and restoring congressional control under Article I, Section 1 and the National Emergencies Act framework. Tenth Amendment is respected because foreign tariff policy is a delegated federal function, not a reserved state power.

Due process and takings · passes

Imposes no penalty, seizure, or taking and creates no ex parte adjudication. It restores procedural regularity by requiring that duties be imposed through Article I legislative process with notice, deliberation, and vote, rather than by open-ended emergency declaration. No Fifth Amendment procedural due process, substantive due process, or Takings Clause violation. Cites Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause.

Provenance

Grade ID
188
Rubric version
vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0
Graded
2026-10-08 10:41 UTC
Engine
primary SI engine
Source fetched
2026-10-08 09:43 UTC
Source SHA-256
3fecc9bc420712ef8ae4d3c66b2468669647250ac4e6d4ac95415a411377ecef
Checks
si-editorial-standard/1.0: real Constitution citation, language rules

Version history · never overwritten

GradeGradedRubric Source hashStatus
A · #188 2026-10-08 vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0 3fecc9bc4207 current

Cite this

Values for America. “Constitutional grade: S.J.Res. 77, A joint resolution terminating the national emergency declared to impose duties on articles imported from Canada..” VFA Constitution Index, grade 188 (rubric vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0), graded October 8, 2026. https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution-index/grades/188. Accessed 2026-10-19.

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