You can hear the reassurances to sensitive Trump officials in the financial press, after the U.S. Court of International Trade has again struck down Administration tariffs, known as “Section 122” tariffs. These replaced the tariffs the Supreme Court struck down in February. On May 7, the CIT invalidated Trump’s universal 10% tariff, a decision the White House will likely appeal immediately, seeking a stay.
These 150-day “temporary” tariffs expire on July 24, so they will likely already have expired before the Supreme Court rules, to be in turn replaced (Trump hopes) by yet another set of new tariffs under Sec. 301 (unfair trade practices) and Sec. 232 (national security). The former are now the subject of “investigations” by the U.S. Trade Representative, the outcome of which could perhaps be guessed by any fifth grader.
