Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Tariffs; Everybody Wins

A Supreme Court that has mostly been letting Donald Trump get away with egregious abuses of power drew a line on Friday by ruling that the president’s invocation of a rarely used law to justify imposing sweeping tariffs on most US trading partners exceeded his authority.

“The President asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the 6-3 decision. “In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it.”

According to Roberts, who was joined by the three liberal justices as well as Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) does not meet that standard.

While Trump won’t feel that way, and even though the administration will almost certainly find some other way to justify the tariffs that form the centerpiece of his economic agenda, this decision is a win for everybody.

Most importantly, it is a win for the American people and US businesses, who, contrary to the president’s claims, have been the ones paying for Trump’s tariffs.

It’s a win for the rule of law. The invocation of the IEEPA was nothing more than a preposterous power grab. Trump has been using vague “emergencies” to seize powers not ordinarily granted to the president by the Constitution.

Clearly, running a trade deficit does not constitute an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States and neither does the flow of fentanyl from its neighbors.

The ruling is also a win because it proves once again that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who wrote a dissenting opinion with Justice Brett Kavanaugh, cannot be taken seriously. At this point, they are simply a rubber stamp for Trump.

Finally (and ironically) the ruling is also a win for Trump… although one he will neither acknowledge nor accept.

It is very clear that his tariffs are hurting the economy.

On Friday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) had slowed to an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter. And while Trump and his administration will blame everyone and everything other than the president’s policies for the slowdown, it is clear that the tariffs are hamstringing the US economy.

In theory, this ruling could provide an offramp from a calamitous course.

Naturally, Trump will speed right by it because the allure of being able to impose arbitrary tariffs on countries that irk him is too great for someone like the president.

And that’s why Friday’s decision will only be a temporary reprieve for American consumers and businesses, as well as US trading partners.