Tariffs Built to Last

Though the Trump Administration has faced a series of legal setbacks on tariffs, it seems to have found a solution. After the Supreme Court ruled that the administration’s reciprocal tariffs were wrongfully imposed, the president immediately leapt to plan B: Section 122 tariffs, which allow the temporary placement of global tariffs. But these tariffs—derived from the Trade Act of 1974, which Trump used to install a 10% levy on most imported goods—expire in just over two months, and a court has ruled them unlawful.

Although that case is still working through the system, the administration is already planning to replace Section 122 tariffs with Section 301 tariffs. These, too, stem from the Trade Act, but unlike the previous tariffs, they will be here to stay. They will also allow the Trump Administration to target countries that have relied on unfair trade practices such as lax environmental standards that let our trade “partners” produce at excess capacity—essentially to get one over on the United States.

Section 301, in short, gives the president the power to counter unfair foreign trade practices. Unlike the reciprocal and 122 tariffs, they can be placed only after a long process that includes public hearings and comment periods. While this may frustrate those who want quick action, the process practically guarantees courts will not rule them unconstitutional, as the authority is laid out explicitly in the statutory text.

Read more in The American Mind.