OPINION:
The U.S. Supreme Court may have ruled against President Trump’s use of emergency powers to levy tariffs on various countries with an aim at course correcting trade imbalances that have been damaging America’s economy for years.
But China shouldn’t be cheering just yet. Trump has other means at his disposal. And if there’s one thing that should be evident to all about Trump, it’s that he doesn’t acknowledge defeat.
When it comes to America First — and particularly, when it comes to the economic business of putting America First — Trump will not stop until the win is secured.
Just days after the Supreme Court ruled Trump can’t use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, as a means of levying tariffs unilaterally against whatever economies of the world he wants, he’s already announced new ways of bringing about the same pro-America ends. The White House announced a 15 percent global tariff under authorities vested in the executive by Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which allows for the financial stick to stay in place for 150 days as a means of addressing “large and serious” trade imbalances.
On ABC’s “This Week,” Jamie Greer, U.S. trade representative, said: “The statute we were using [IEEPA] was an emergency statute. And the president selected to use it because of the huge expanse of the … trade deficit, a 40 percent expansion … under President Biden. [Trump] came in; he needed to move very quickly. He did. Trading partners came to the table right away. They opened their markets to us. We imposed tariffs.”
Then SCOTUS ruled.
Then the anti-tariff crowd cheered.
“China’s leverage rises before high-stakes summit as Supreme Court curbs Trump tariffs,” CNBC wrote.
“China, India, Among Winners After US Court. Blocked Trump Tariffs,” Bloomberg wrote.
Then Trump rose to react.
“Trump signs order imposing ‘temporary’ 10 percent global tariff after Supreme Court ruling,” Politico wrote, a couple of days ago.
Then Trump rose to react again.
“Trump to raise global tariffs to 15 percent,” NPR wrote a day ago.
Then Team Trump regrouped and found new ways to win the global economic war — to course correct the years and years of other nations taking advantage of America’s favorable trade climate; to course correct the years and years of other governments totally exploiting America’s Democrat-led weakness in the White House and Congress; to course correct the years and years of China’s economic rise at the expense of America’s economic fall.
From Greer, The Hill reported: “Now we’re in a situation that we have these [tariff] deals. We can reconstruct what we need. We can reconstruct our half of the deal with Section 301, Section 232, which are other tariff authorities with clear designations of authority that we can put in place and keep for as long as needed to resolve the problems that we discover.” Section 301 allows for the U.S. to use tariffs to deal with nations with “unfair” trade policies; Section 232 allows the executive to levy tariffs against countries in the name of national security.
In other words: Trump, the consummate businessman, will enact a favorable U.S. trade policy with or without SCOTUS.
That’s a certainty that should set the countries of the world on notice — sorry, China! — that America First is still very much alive.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.
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