MADISONCENTER FOR AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
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connected.

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The constitutional text

Article I · Section 10

Select any highlighted phrase to understand what it means.

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

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 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 of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

Source: National Constitution Center edition. Original wording is preserved; commentary explains historical and superseded provisions.

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202 elements · 219 connections · One constitutional systemOpen the reader
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You don’t have to understand everything at once. One connection is a good beginning.

LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER

Article I, Section 10, Clause 2a

State import and export duties need consent

Current text
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 inspection Laws:

What it means

A state generally needs congressional consent to impose import or export duties, except amounts absolutely necessary to execute its inspection laws. The exception accommodates genuine administration rather than a general state tariff policy.

Historical setting

Separate state trade barriers could undermine national commercial regulation and burden neighboring states. The Constitution restricts them while recognizing that inspection can be a legitimate local function.

What it does

A state cannot label a revenue-raising tariff an inspection fee and assume it fits the exception. The necessity and purpose of the charge matter, as do the subsequent rules on proceeds and congressional supervision.

Debate & interpretation

The balance is between useful local regulation and economic barriers disguised as administration. It shows how the Constitution sometimes conditions state action on national approval instead of prohibiting it in all circumstances.

A common misreading

The inspection exception is not unlimited permission to collect tariffs so long as a state performs some inspection.

Think it through

What evidence would show that a fee covers necessary inspection costs rather than finances an unrelated state program?

Follow the connection

Sources & further reading

Original Madison Center commentary. Explanations distinguish the text, historical context, and interpretive disagreements.

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