The US supreme court’s ruling last Friday striking down Donald Trump’s sweeping “liberation day” tariffs (Report, 20 February) is a welcome, if overdue, relief for the millions of working families and small businesses who have been footing the bill for this trade war. By raising the cost of everyday goods – from groceries to car parts – these tariffs hit those with the least the hardest, driving up the average US household’s costs by an estimated $1,000 in 2025 alone.
The US president’s rapid move to pursue fresh tariffs under a different legal mechanism risks extending the very uncertainty the court sought to address. For the small shopkeeper in London or the family in the American midwest, volatility is not theoretical. It affects pricing, hiring and survival.
Tariffs should not punish ordinary people. If economic sovereignty is to mean anything, it must prioritise stability and fairness. Trade policy should strengthen domestic resilience without imposing disproportionate costs on consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises. Economic strategy must serve people first, not political cycles.
Dayuan Li
Oxford Department of International Development
