With President Donald Trump’s trade and tariff policies facing scrutiny at the Supreme Court, economist Peter Schiff has said that the apex court could be doing Trump a favor by striking them down.
Tariff Ruling The New ‘Scapegoat’ For Trump
On Wednesday, in a post on X, Schiff said that if the court rules against the unconstitutional “Liberation Day” tariffs, it would actually be “doing Trump a favor,” since it allows him to deflect blame for the looming economic crisis under his administration.
The ruling would give him “another scapegoat for the recession,” Schiff said, hinting that Trump would rather blame the court’s decision than accept responsibility for his economic policies.
See Also: Trump’s Tariffs Aimed To Boost ‘Made In USA’—But Manufacturing Keeps Shrinking
Schiff also warned that if the court decides to leave the tariffs in place, the resulting economic fallout “would be even worse.”
Supreme Court Expresses Doubts On Legality of Trump’s Tariffs
During the oral hearing on Wednesday, both Conservative and Liberal justices of the Supreme Court expressed skepticism about the legality of Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
The use of the decades-old International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to impose these duties, alongside the significant executive overreach that this act marks, was questioned by the justices. Chief Justice John Roberts noted that the tariffs were an “imposition of taxes on Americans, and that has always been the core power of Congress.”
Roberts suggested that the court could apply its "Major Questions" doctrine, which essentially requires executive actions with major economic or political impacts to go through Congressional approval.
Trump Warns Against Overturning Tariffs
Trump has repeatedly warned against overturning the tariffs, saying that the outcome could "literally destroy" the United States, leaving the country "struggling for years to come."
A few months ago, he had warned that the nation would be burdened with "trillions and trillions of dollars" in debt if the court decided to nullify his actions. This highlights the importance of the tariffs to the administration’s trade and economic policies.
Experts, however, note that the administration may have a backup plan in place, such as using Section 122 of the Trade Act to keep the tariffs in place, in case of an unfavorable ruling by the apex court.
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