As soon as the ruling striking down the IEEPA tariffs was issued, speculation began that while it was a short-term loss for Trump, it might be a long-term win because taking away his ability to disrupt the economy would be a political boon since so much of the damage had been self-inflicted. I heard a panelist on WAMU’s 1A make such an assertion mere minutes after the ruling was released, and some commenters here at the site had similar thoughts.
But, it seems that the Very Stable Genius (TM) in the White House really, really wants to keep up the economic chaos, as per the NYT yesterday:
President Trump moved swiftly on Friday to resurrect his punishing tariffs and circumvent a stunning loss at the Supreme Court, ordering a new 10 percent tax on all imports along with other trade actions in a bid to preserve his primary source of economic leverage around the world.
[…]
Mr. Trump said he would revive his tariffs using a series of authorities provided under the 1974 Trade Act. He took his first steps late Friday, invoking a provision of the law known as Section 122 to impose a 10 percent tariff starting on February 24. No president before him had invoked that provision.
This morning, the number is up to 15%: Trump Says He Will Raise Global Tariff to 15 Percent as per the best way to govern, ever, a Truth Social post:
Note:
Mr. Trump previously set his replacement global rate at 10 percent, using a provision in a law — never before invoked by a president — that allows him to impose an across-the-board tariff for 150 days unless Congress agrees to extend it. The statute caps the rate at 15 percent, though Mr. Trump has signaled he plans to use other trade provisions to continue raising taxes on imports.
So, I guess that we will get to see more political fallout for all of this in 150 days, which will be late July. You know, kind of the middle of Congressional primary season.
BTW, “fully and legally tested” reminds me, for no particular reason, of the Kix cereal slogan from my youth: “Kid tested, Mother approved.” The sophistication level seems on par, I guess.
