S.J.Res. 88: A joint resolution terminating the national emergency declared to impose global tariffs.

S.J. Res. 88 does one thing: it terminates the national emergency declared on April 2, 2025, in Executive Order 14257. That matters because the emergency appears to be the legal foundation for sweeping global tariffs. If this resolution becomes law, that emergency ends on the date of enactment.

In plain English, Congress is trying to take back control over a major trade move made by the president. Tariffs can raise the cost of imported goods, and those costs often ripple through supply chains to businesses and consumers. Ending the emergency could block or unwind tariffs that were imposed under that declaration, depending on how the administration and courts handle the change.

The resolution also matters as a separation-of-powers fight. Congress is using the National Emergencies Act to say that an emergency declaration should not be used to sustain a broad tariff policy. That sets up a larger argument over how far presidents can go in using emergency powers for economic policy rather than for sudden crises like war or natural disasters.

The text itself is unusually narrow and direct. It does not create a new trade system, replace the tariffs with another policy, or provide money for affected industries. It simply ends the declared emergency. That simplicity makes the political choice clear: lawmakers are voting not on a detailed tariff rewrite, but on whether the emergency should continue at all.