The United States Supreme Court’s decision to strike down President Trump’s tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was greeted by many as a sign that constitutional checks and balances were still in working order.
However, anyone thinking that this might bring a turnaround in Trump’s thinking on tariffs were swiftly disabused of this notion by an announcement that he would impose a 10% tariff on all goods entering the US. By Saturday, Trump said this should be raised to 15%.
The new measures rely on Section 122 of the 1974 US Trade Act, which allows temporary tariffs to address serious balance-of-payments deficits, and can only be extended beyond 150 days with the approval of the…
