Trump’s Tarriffs are in limbo again. First, tariff opponents asked a federal court to block several of Trump’s tariff orders. The court agreed. Then Trump’s lawyers won an injunction against the block. And then, Tariff opponents said they would appeal that order…
…Which puts the magic number at ‘9’, as in June 9, the deadline for opposition lawyers to file their next possible appeal. Meanwhile, confusion reigns in the consumer marketplace with price increases poised to kick in on thousands of imported products.
What next?
You know that little pause, when a roller coaster reaches the summit of a ‘hill’? That’s now until Thursday June 9, when the matter will be back in court. Then, whatever the decision on the Trump Administration’s appeal of the earlier challenge, Tariff-coaster will plunge over the top into the next gorge of uncertainty.
A number of US State administrations were among parties that filed petitions against the tariffs. They complained that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, intended to justify Presidential action bypassing Congress in cases of sanctions and embargoes, did not apply to Trump’s non-emergency actions.
An injunction was issued against tariffs on goods from Canada (25 percent), China (10 percent) and Mexico (25 percent) by the United States Court of International Trade, along with one for the 10 per-cent ‘baseline’ tariff on all countries and any non-reciprocal trade agreements. But then, a temporary injunction was ordered against that injunction to give Trump forces the chance to appeal the original injunction.
Still with me?
Meanwhile…
Lawmakers on both sides of the congressional aisle and a growing umber of frustrated economists are warning that the long the Tariffs confusion continues to churn out of control through the US and world economies, the worse things are going to get for consumers and businesses alike. And the harder it will be to repair the damage Tariffs are wreaking, once the whole ‘dance-riot’ is finally over.
On the consumer scene… The six-week hiatus between the announcement of tariffs and the point where their effects would begin to be felt at the retail level is almost over. And consumers are bra-cing for another jump in prices on just about everything – especially ‘perishable’ goods such as fresh produce which cycle through the supply chain fastest.
My take
I’m not a politician, an enconomist or a food industry strategist. But I see no way out of a dismal forecast for the summer to come. At the rate the courts move, and the supply chain crawls forward, I suspect it will be fall before the Tariffs chaos dies down again. And we can al try to resume some semblance of our usual lives.
Which is not say, by any means, that prices will be even thinking about coming down – much less will have receded any – by then.
… And by Fall, the US will be awash in early 2026 midterm election prep and speculation. Which will no doubt include another upswing in chatter about tariffs and food costs and the other issues can-didates in the 2024 election promised to deal with, but won’t have gotten around to by then.
Some things never change…
~ Maggie J.