After an appeals court slapped down President Donald Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose high tariffs without congressional authorization, he complained that if the import taxes go away, the U.S. will become a "third-world nation." That would be quite a trick. Despite the president's repeated claims that high tariffs produce greater national wealth, most countries that adopt them are very poor, while those that keep trade barriers low are wealthier. Third world status might be in America's future, but it's more likely to result from tariffs rather than from their absence.
Courtroom Tariff Tussle
As Reason's Jacob Sullum noted earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a unanimous ruling by the Court of International Trade that Trump exceeded his authority when he relied on IEEPA to unilaterally impose stiff import taxes. "Both courts noted that Trump's use of IEEPA, which does not mention tariffs at all, was unprecedented and involved an assertion of authority that implicated the 'major questions' doctrine, which aims to uphold the separation of powers," Sullum wrote.
