US Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs in Sweeping Decision

The United States Supreme Court ruled yesterday that President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs cannot be considered legal under an emergency act from 1977.

The ruling was 6-3, led by Chief Justice John Roberts alongside the court's three liberal justices and another two conservative justices. The court ruled that Trump's extensive tariffs did not fall under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977, which the president used as a basis for the placement of levies across various countries.

The ruling nullifies Trump's reciprocal tariffs against all countries with exports to the US, in addition to the revocation of his 25% tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China under the claim of preventing fentanyl trade into the US.

This elimination of tariffs is a massive blow to Trump's agenda, which heavily relied on the utilization of tariffs to strike deals with other nations. It also leaves the US with a gaping hole in the federal budget, as Trump's tariffs were crucial to filling the gap left by his reduction in income taxes.

The president himself was outraged by the decision, labeling the six justices who ruled against him as "fools and lap dogs," "unpatriotic," "disloyal to the Constitution," and "a disgrace to the nation." Specifically, he referred to the two conservatives who opposed his tariffs as "an embarrassment to their families."

He quickly followed the decision with the announcement of a 10% tariff on all countries, putting his already-finalized deals with several crucial allies into jeopardy. After the ruling, he was no longer able to use the IEEPA of 1977, but he did manage to place the new tariffs under the Trade Act of 1974, with the levies scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday at midnight.

However, the act does limit his options– under that specific section, the tariffs announced cannot exceed 15% and can last for a maximum of 150 days. They will exclude Canada and Mexico, though

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Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Insight without action is worthless. (Marie Forleo)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Encapsulate (verb, in-KAP-suh-layt) - Encapsulate literally means “to enclose in or as if in a capsule,” but the word is more often used figuratively as a synonym of summarize, to talk about showing or expressing a main idea or quality in a brief way.

In a Sentence: Can you encapsulate the speech in a single paragraph?

Image credit to Reuters