SCOTUS strikes down Trump tariffs, but 'alternative' plans brewing

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that tariffs could help pay down the $38 trillion, and growing, US national debt.

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a ruling on Friday striking down most of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, with six of the nine Supreme Court justices ruling that the Executive Branch lacks authority to levy tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

“IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs,” Friday’s ruling said, adding that the president has “no inherent authority” to impose tariffs during peacetime using the statutes in the IEEPA. The ruling read:

Trump claimed that the purported inflow of drugs from Canada, China and Mexico, as well as the “hollowing out” of the US industrial base, constituted a national emergency under IEEPA that justified the tariffs, which the court rejected.

In a press briefing following the decision, Trump lashed out at the justices who voted to strike down the tariffs and vowed to get them reinstated, Politico reported.

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