Just a few days ago, in a stinging rebuke, the US Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump's use of tariffs against other countries was unconstitutional. While this wasn't the first time that this conservative court overruled Trump (they recently allowed a lower court decision to stand that prevented him from sending National Guard troops to Illinois, making him back away from that terrible policy), this was the most impactful, given that Trump has built his the entire economic policy of his second term around tariffs, either by imposing them or just threatening to.
Really, this ruling was hardly a difficult one for the court to make, when you think about it. Trump has claimed that he has the power to impose any tariffs for any amount on any country under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). But that act states that there must be "unusual and extraordinary" threats to U.S. national security, foreign policy, or the economy. In other words, there had to be some kind of economic emergency for him to claim this power, and the economy, if anything, was quite strong when he took office. It didn't help his case that Trump set tariffs and then lowered or ended them in the same day, or that he once admitted that he raised the tariffs on Switzerland because their Prime Minister "rubbed him the wrong way"! As Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion: “The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope. In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it.” Sounds right to me.
Besides, Trump's tariffs have not done what he claimed they would do, which is create manufacturing jobs; in fact, the country lost over 100,000 manufacturing jobs last year. No wonder that recent polls have 60% of the American public opposing them, thinking that they will bring higher prices. Even some congressional Republicans have lauded this ruling, with Representative Kevin Kiley of California saying “Checks and balances are the foundation of American government.”
Not surprisingly, Trump has lashed out the court, not only attacking the judges by name but even saying that were "a shame to their families". But the reality is, Trump's wild changes to his tariffs plans only brought uncertainty to both the American and global economic markets, with countries having no idea what Trump would do next, causing them to cut deals with more reliable trading partners. While Trump will never admit it, this ruling will end his chaotic whims and bring some sanity to global markets.
Or will it? Already Trump has claimed new tariff powers, saying that Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows him to address "large and serious balance-of-payments deficits" with a one time imposition of tariffs. Immediately he called for a 10% tariff on all incoming goods, and then a day later raised to 15%, showing the exact kind of erratic behavior that caused the court to rule against him in the first place. But these new tariffs have limits, specifically, they expire in 150 days, so most countries will be able to wait him out.
Hopefully, when the tariffs wear off, Trump and his toddler like attention span will have moved onto something else. Or perhaps he will negotiate new tariffs with congress, which is something I'm not necessarily opposed to. The problem here isn't tariffs, which, when applied correctly, can boost American interests in trade deals, the problem is having tariffs imposed by a crazed aspiring dictator like Trump goes against both the country's interest and the world's. If Trump could ever admit that he was wrong about anything, he should accept this ruling and forget about imposing tariffs without congress. In the long run, this ruling will help the economy, and him.
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