Like many of you, I was quite disappointed when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Trump’s Executive Branch authority to impose wide-ranging tariffs as part of his foreign policy tool chest. But they did, and that is that.
However, the president on Tuesday did get some good news regarding his second round of tariffs from a U.S. appeals court, which paused a ruling from the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) that had struck them down.
The new set of tariffs was enacted immediately after the Supreme Court’s decision, which invalidated the original Liberation Day tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). This measure established a baseline tariff of 10 percent on all U.S. trading partners.
? NOW: A US Appeals Court has just STRUCK DOWN a court’s block on President Trump’s 10% global tariffs, meaning they are officially BACK in effect while the case plays out
Good! 47’s tariffs work, and are CLEARLY constitutional ?pic.twitter.com/J5HS8kwye7
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 12, 2026
It comes in mens and womens and lets your friends know you're happy to express your views and don't care what anyone thinks! Cheers!
The new tariffs were initially blocked last Friday. They were implemented under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits temporary import surcharges without Congressional approval for a period of 150 days.
The tariffs are expected to expire by the end of July unless Congress decides to extend them.
Now, there is an argument to be made, and some on our side have made it, that tariffs serve as a tax on imported goods and that companies importing those tariffed goods are raising prices to cover the tariffs, which is adding to inflation.
While the argument is sound, I’m not an economist and therefore can’t really intelligently say one way or another if Trump’s tariffs are actually causing prices to rise (I more so think most of it is due to rising gas prices, which will fall when the Iran war is over and the Strait of Hormuz is reopened shortly).
That said, Trump’s using the tariffs to level the playing field with countries that have long imposed similar tariffs on all U.S. imports, putting American companies at a disadvantage. This is part of his ‘America First’ agenda and a majority of voters supported it.
Trump’s team continues to negotiate trade deals with countries, thereby negating the need for tariffs or, in some cases, making them reciprocal. We’ll see how this latest tariff appeals court ruling plays out.
