The Coming Supreme Court Decision on Trump’s Tariffs

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether or not President Trump’s tariffs will stand. On September 3, Trump’s Solicitor General asked the court to expedite its review of the case “to the maximum extent feasible” because the case’s presence on its docket was interfering with international negotiations.

In a Labor Day news conference, President Trump’s top trade and manufacturing policy advisor Peter Navarro discussed the upcoming case. The key issue will be whether Trump’s tariffs qualify under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Navarro argued that Trump has been using tariffs to address not just one, but three different emergencies:

1. Trade deficits. The huge U.S. trade deficits of $1.3 trillion per year which threaten America’s economic future.
2. Smuggling of opioid drugs. The poisoning by smuggled-in Fentanyl has already killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.
3. National security. The reestablishment of key supply chains which will be needed for the production of weapons.

In this commentary, we will address the first of Navarro’s three arguments, the trade deficits that we have been writing about in our books and articles.