Supreme Court Ruling Deals Blow to Presidential Tariff Power
The Supreme Court's recent decision limits a president's ability to use tariffs as a political tool, making it harder to punish critics and reward allies. This could impact Trump's 'corruption machine'.
The Supreme Court has deferred to executive power for decades, but its recent decision on tariffs is a long-overdue warning. After two decades of deferring to executive authority and eroding anti-bribery laws, the high court has suddenly limited presidential power in a way that could make one ugly form of political influence a bit more difficult to pull off.
Last week's ruling did not merely strip one president of his executive power to unilaterally impose levies across broad swaths of the economy – it makes it harder for any president to transform tariffs from a broad economic policy into a personal political cudgel that muzzles criticism and enforces fealty.
Lori Wallach of Rethink Trade said,
Source: The Guardian
