CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Liberation Day for Real? Not Really

Photograph Source: The White House – Public Domain

“[The International Emergency Economic Powers Act] does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.”

That’s the single really important sentence from the US Supreme Court’s February 20 ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump.

Trump’s ongoing tariff tantrums, starting with his “Liberation Day” schedule of “reciprocal” tariffs, were illegal under the law in question, and under the US Constitution, which gives Congress, and only Congress, the power to levy taxes.

Every dime taken by the US government via those tariffs is stolen money. Which is true of all taxes, but in this case, the money was stolen even according to the very political and legal systems which usually pretend otherwise.

There are four aspects of the court’s ruling which should be, but aren’t surprising.

One is that the court took months to finally just come out........

© CounterPunch