China continues to benefit as prior partnerships isolate America and form new trade deals.
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An Emergency non-Emergency Post
Holy tariff mess, Batman
AUG 29READ IN APP
Wow. An appeals court, backing up the Court of International Trade, has just ruled the majority of Trump’s tariffs illegal. We kind of knew this was coming, but the reality still comes as a shock.
It’s important to be clear what just happened. The court didn’t say that tariffs per se are illegal. It said that the procedure Trump used to impose tariffs — declaring an economic emergency, then setting tariff rates without so much as consulting Congress, let alone passing legislation — is illegal. If Trump wants to pass a tariff bill, the same way he passed his One Big Beautiful Bill, OK. (I mean, terrible policy, but legal.)
But just saying “I am the Tariff Man, and here are my tariffs” isn’t OK.
True, the International Economic Emergency Powers Act gives the president substantial room to set tariffs during an, um, economic emergency. But Trump himself keeps saying that the economy is in wonderful shape, booming without inflation, and any claims to the contrary are fake news. So how can things both be terrific and an emergency calling for drastic action?
Now Trump is issuing dire warnings:
