Trump responds to SCOTUS ruling, turns to other tariffs

President Donald Trump pushed ahead with a fresh tariff on Friday after the Supreme Court deemed his emergency tariffs unconstitutional. He praised the three conservative justices who dissented, arguing that the majority of the justices on the court were Democrats who are a disgrace to the country.

At a White House news conference, Trump said the tariffs are essential for national security, particularly when other countries have unfair trade practices. Overturning them was unpatriotic and disloyal to the Constitution, he said. He also suggested that the majority ruled against him because they were afraid of Democratic activists and swayed by foreign interests.

What does he plan to do? Trump read several portions from Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s dissent, which pointed out that other federal statutes do give the president authority over tariffs without congressional input. When he imposed new tariffs last year, he was not as harsh as he could have been, he argued. He announced a new executive order imposing a 10% global tariff under Section 122. He planned to sign the order later on Friday, and he said it would take effect on Monday.

The Supreme Court’s decision only dealt with a question over how Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. Trump said that it was ridiculous that he could impose embargoes, quotas, and other trade barriers but not charge tariffs. He said he will now impose even higher tariffs than before under an assortment of other statutes.

When asked whether he would work with Congress on future tariffs, Trump said he was not required to do so.

Original story, 11:30 a.m.: 

Supreme Court strikes down many of Trump’s tariffs

The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision Friday that President Donald Trump did not have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs last year. The court sided with plaintiffs who argued that such a decision required congressional approval. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented from the majority opinion.

In April last year, on what he dubbed “Liberation Day,” Trump declared a national trade emergency and invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, known as IEEPA, to levy harsh tariffs on dozens of countries. In the months that followed, Trump removed some and reinstated others. He characterized his decisions as essential to national security.

Does this mean all tariffs are gone? The Supreme Court did not strike down tariffs that were authorized under other laws. In particular, Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 permits tariffs on goods relevant to national security. Those tariffs require prior investigation by the secretary of commerce, but do not require congressional approval. As of November, products subject to these tariffs include steel, aluminum, cars and car parts, buses, trucks, copper, furniture, lumber, and timber.

What did the dissenting justices say? Kavanaugh wrote that he disagreed with the majority because the decision might prompt a messy refund process for the government. He said it misapplied or misinterpreted the constitutional principle of the separation of powers between the three branches of government. Also, he said that the government has no way to return billions of dollars collected from importers since the tariffs were levied. A coalition of U.S.-based 800 small businesses has already petitioned for immediate refunds. But in the majority opinion, Roberts wrote that interpreting IEEPA to allow the president unilateral power to impose tariffs without limit or end date would drastically expand the powers of the executive branch. He noted that no president before ever attempted to invoke the law as Trump did. 

Dig deeper: Listen to the Legal Docket segment of The World and Everything in It for a review of how oral arguments went when the case was first brought to the Supreme Court.