Let's talk about Trump's loss at the Trade Court.... - Belle of the Ranch

Well, howdy there Internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about Trump's loss at the trade court.

About two weeks ago, Trump's Liberation Day tariff scheme that he tried to enact under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act got knocked down by the Supreme Court. Then on Monday, a federal appeals court declined to delay implementation of the order, which opened the door for the US Court of International Trade to step in. The Trump administration was asking for a three-month delay that the court saw no reason to give them.

Well, Judge Richard Eaton of the US Court of International Trade wasted no time in ruling that Trump had to pay back the money that SCOTUS said he unlawfully taxed from Americans. It's going to be a lot of money. The federal government took in about $130 billion from the unlawful tax on Americans, but according to the Penn Wharton budget model are probably going to have to make refunds in the amount of $175 billion. And this is how you bankrupt a casino people.

Dan Anthony, who is the executive director of We Pay the Tariffs, said, "This is a victory for small businesses who have paid billions in unlawful tariffs and deserve their money back. The court acted swiftly and correctly. Now, the ball is in the government's court, and small businesses are concerned they will drag this out further.”

Americans and small businesses, while they might have concerns Trump is going to try to further harm their businesses, were ecstatic about the ruling. A whole bunch of major companies like Bausch and Lomb, Dyson, and FedEx have already filed suit, and some companies have promised refunds to clients. But the reason small businesses are so happy is because of some specific wording in the ruling that should theoretically streamline some things and something the judge said during the hearing which was, "We want to work out a method by which those importers can make a claim for duties which were unlawfully applied."

In his ruling, Eaton wrote that he and he alone, quote, will hear cases pertaining to the refund of IEEPA duties. The judge that just ruled heavily against Trump's tariffs basically called dibs on the cases. And further, the ruling said all importers of record were going to be entitled to relief based on the Supreme Court ruling. In short, it looks like the judge is trying to set it up so it's more of a normal refund process rather than everybody having to sue. It's widely expected that the Trump administration tries to find some way to delay the process, which is weird because at this point the horse is out of the barn.

It's important to really remember that aside from the costs passed on to us, aside from the trade disruptions and damage to American reputation, aside from the massive tax on Americans, because it was found to be unlawful, not only will Trump's tariffs not generate any money for the government, it actually looks like it's going to cost it about $50 billion. Reminder, most experts say his new tariff plan is also unlawful.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.