Tariff and SOTU Update

Okay, I noted a couple of days ago that Trump defied the Supreme Court by instigating new tariffs - first 10 percent, then 15 percent - based on a loophole.  That loophole is Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which the Shapiro logistics company explains as follows:

Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 is a U.S. trade law provision that gives the President temporary authority to address serious balance-of-payments deficits or significant declines in the value of the U.S. dollar. It is designed as a short-term economic safeguard tool, allowing the administration to respond quickly to international financial instability or trade imbalances.

Unlike other trade enforcement mechanisms that target specific countries or unfair trade practices, Section 122 can be applied more broadly and is primarily focused on macroeconomic concerns rather than individual trade violations.

You know what's funny?  I'll tell you.  The plaintiffs in the Supreme Court tariff case used Section 122 as their argument against the tariffs Trump had implemented.  Now, the new tariff imposed under this very section of the Trade Act of 1974 could be subject to a new lawsuit.  And even this tariff stands, it is only supposed to last 150 days, after which Congress is required  approve any new tariffs, which, as Joseph Brusuelas wrote on The Real Economy Blog wrote, "will prompt businesses and households to either pull forward planned purchases, or simply delay them until the tariffs expire."  That's not good for the economy, nor is the uncertainty created by the prospect of more litigation that will delay the refunds to business the Court ordered Trump to give to businesses affected by the earlier tariffs - refunds averaging about $153 billion. 

As for the State of the Union address . . . yeah, of course I didn't see it.  I personally think we should go back to when the White House sent a message to Congress as a letter instead of delivering in it person.

In fact, both Presidents George Washington and John Adams delivered State of The Union addresses in person, but President Thomas Jefferson started the tradition of written messages to Congress in 1801 for two reasons.  First, he felt that delivering the State of the Union message in person would make him seem like a king.  Second, Jefferson had a stammer and abhorred public speaking.  James Madison would continue Jefferson's practice of delivering written messages to Congress when he became President in 1809, and it was not until 1913 when President Woodrow Wilson (above) resumed the practice of delivering the State of the Union address in person, which he did to demonstrate how serious he was about his agenda, particularly his New Freedom economic agenda.  There were fourteen instances after 1913 when Presidents reverted to a letter to Congress, most notably when Franklin Roosevelt sent letters to Congress during World War II.  Jimmy Carter sent the last message to Congress by letter in January 1981 as a lame-duck President, right about the same time Styx released as a single a song that itself made for a perfect State of the Union address for the beginning of 1981, the deliberately ironically titled "The Best of Times": "I know you feel these are the worst of times, I do believe it's true."  The Iran crisis, a sour economy, John Lennon having just been murdered . . . you get the picture.

And given Trump's apparent inability to resist breaking out into a fascist groove thing at the podium, rumor has it it's the end of paradise.