Tracking Trump's Tariffs and Turbulent Trade Talks

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What Are Trump’s Options If His Tariffs Are Ruled Unlawful?​

(Bloomberg) -- In rolling out the most aggressive tariff regime in the US in nearly a century, President Donald Trump has leaned heavily on emergency powers that had never been used before to impose import taxes.

Two federal courts ruled in May that he wrongfully invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify sweeping “reciprocal” duties targeting America’s trading partners, as well as separate levies aimed at China, Canada and Mexico. The Trump administration appealed both decisions.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...e-ruled-unlawful/ar-AA1LD8Uw?ocid=socialshare
 
US Trading Partners ‘Dazed and Confused’ After Tariff Court Loss: A federal appeals court ruled that President Trump’s global tariffs were issued illegally under an emergency law, upholding a May ruling by the Court of International Trade. The ruling applies to Trump’s “Liberation Day” global tariffs and affects the extra levies on Mexico, China, and Canada, with a final ruling against the tariffs potentially upending Trump’s trade deals. gift article (Bloomberg)
 
Went shopping this morning. Hit 2 places and looked at the price increases on certain things. One was coffee. Up big time due to T tariffs.

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'Trump's promise that foreign companies would pay. . .turned out to be false': Economist on tariffs​


Aug 31, 2025 #CNN #News
President Donald Trump is making sure to share – repeatedly – a recent government analysis that shows his sweeping array of tariffs is expected to reduce the federal debt by $4 trillion over the next decade, more than forecast only a few months ago.
However, how much revenue the US actually realizes depends on several important factors, including whether the current levies remain in place into 2035 and how the nation reacts to the higher tariffs. The tariffs are expected to increase inflation and potentially weaken the economy, which could in turn reduce federal revenue. (The CBO’s analysis did not take the economic impact into account.)
CNN's Jake Tapper speaks with University of Michigan professor of economics and public policy Justin Wolfers and Jeremy Lande, CEO of Fontana Forni USA, which imports pizza ovens from Italy to the US.

8:20

 
Went shopping this morning. Hit 2 places and looked at the price increases on certain things. One was coffee. Up big time due to T tariffs.
I look for coffee on sale, none lately...glad I stock up
 
Went shopping this morning. Hit 2 places and looked at the price increases on certain things. One was coffee. Up big time due to T tariffs.
I roast my own and only buy whole beans once a year. Unfortunately now is when I need to buy for the next year and prices are up substantially.

So if tariffs are not allowed do we get our money back and does trump have to pay back everything collected?
 
So if tariffs are not allowed do we get our money back and does trump have to pay back everything collected?

Don't know about this, but since we're raking in trillions I want my slice of the pie. And I don't want a 600 buck check. I want a bare min of 10K. I get that and I'll reregister as R. 20K and I'll sing T's praises.

It's time to share the wealth.
 
Jennifer has some interesting points about the tariffs in the first part of the vid.

 

In the https://www.pmbug.com/threads/tin-foil-hats-economic-reality-and-the-total-perspective-vortex.75/ thread there are a lot of posts on BRICS. Since T has enacted all kinds of tariffs on all sorts of countries I've been thinking that eventually it could drive some countries to get together and stop trading with us and trade among each other and possibly use a different currency for their trades, bypassing us altogether.

While I have no clue if this will happen there's a possibility it could. A lot of times when T talks about tariffs he kinda comes across as an extortionist in my opinion. Especially when he talks like this:


 
Are you hoping for that?


Imho, for that to happen they'll either have to settle for doing a lot less business, or find a way to replace the market that America currently represents.

Last i saw, the US consumes at least 25% of all the World's mfg'd goods.

What will replace that?
 
The new BFFs China, Russia and India will fall apart soon enough. Those countries are loaded with scammers with China and Indian competing directly against each other in normal trade not to mention all of the border disputes. It will be interesting to see which of them blinks first and runs back to the USA not to be trusted.
 

What Trump’s tariff loss in court means for shippers and the billions in trade duties collected by U.S. government​

  • President Trump’s trade war suffered a big setback with many of his administration’s tariffs ruled illegal by a federal appeals court last Friday, opening up the potential for billions of dollars in trade duties needing to be refunded to businesses and throwing into question trade deals struck by the White House with other nations.
  • But for now, the underlying stance within the shipping industry and supply chain has not changed, according to logistics professionals, with the court decision — a stay is in place until October 14 — contributing to the uncertainty that that has dogged business decision making throughout 2025.
President Donald Trump’s trade war suffered a big setback with many of his administration’s tariffs ruled illegal by a federal appeals court last Friday. Billions of dollars in trade duties may potentially need to be refunded to businesses as trade deals struck by the White House with other nations are thrown into question. But for now, the underlying stance within the shipping industry and supply chain has not changed, according to logistics professionals, with the court decision — a stay is in place until October 14 — contributing to the uncertainty that has dogged business decision making throughout 2025.

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Trump will ask Supreme Court for ‘expedited ruling’ on tariffs appeal​

  • President Donald Trump said he will ask the Supreme Court for an “expedited ruling” to overturn an appeals court decision that found most of his tariffs are illegal.
  • “If you take away tariffs, we could end up being a third-world country,” Trump told reporters at the White House
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will ask the Supreme Court for an “expedited ruling” to overturn an appeals court decision that found most of his tariffs on imports from other countries are illegal.

“If you take away tariffs, we could end up being a third-world country,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in a 7-4 ruling on Friday, said that Trump does not have the authority to implement most of his tariffs.

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A Trump loss in his tariff court case could mean a $150 billion refund for American businesses. Here’s how they could get their money back​


A federal court of appeals said President Trump overstepped his authority when he imposed sweeping tariffs. Now, American importers are scrambling to see if they’ll get a refund on the more than $150 billion they already paid.

The court ruled Friday that the Trump administration could not use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which allows the president “broad authority to regulate a variety of economic transactions following a declaration of national emergency” as justification for his unilaterally imposed tariffs. The ruling largely upheld a May decision by a federal trade court in New York.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...their-money-back/ar-AA1LOlr2?ocid=socialshare
 
Seems stupid to give the potus those powers, but then prevent him from using those powers.

Asked ai, what is the Emergency Economic Powers Act for?

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) grants the U.S. President authority to declare a national emergency and implement economic sanctions or other regulations in response to an unusual and extraordinary threat to the nation's security, foreign policy, or economy originating outside the U.S. Enacted in 1977, IEEPA provides a framework for tools like economic embargoes and asset freezes, serving as a cornerstone of U.S. sanctions policy administered by entities like the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

How It's Used:
Addressing Threats:
Presidents use IEEPA to respond to threats to national security and foreign policy, such as hostile foreign actors or widespread trade imbalances.
Examples of Use:
Presidents have used IEEPA to respond to threats like the migration crisis, trade deficits, and the opioid supply chain
.



Good thing we don't have widespread trade imbalances. lol
 
Looks like the media is eating this up. T sells.

Trump Is Trying to Blackmail the Supreme Court​

Donald Trump is making a last-ditch effort to salvage his beloved, beleaguered tariff policy, heading to the Supreme Court in hopes that the Republican appointees will come to his rescue. The desperation is both palpable and warranted given the conspicuous weakness of the administration’s legal arguments, as underscored by a series of lower court rulings against him. That has in turn led the president and his aides to make increasingly histrionic public claims about what will happen if the Supreme Court does not cave and side with Trump.

Call it The Chicken Little Defense: If the courts do not sign off on the administration’s tariffs, it “would be a total disaster for the Country” and “would literally destroy the United States of America,” Trump said on Friday after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the bulk of the president’s tariffs are illegal. He doubled down on those claims on Tuesday while tacking on the transparently ridiculous assertion that the U.S. is “taking in $17 trillion … because of tariffs.”

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...he-supreme-court/ar-AA1LR1F8?ocid=socialshare
 

Impacts of tariffs start to show following Labor Day Weekend​

Sep 2, 2025 #alabama #birmingham #trumpadministration
As Labor Day shopping kicks off, consumers are facing a challenging landscape due to tariffs impacting prices. According to Trae Bodge, a smart shopping expert, consumers are currently shouldering about 22% of tariff-related price hikes, a figure that could rise to 67% by October.

7:20
 

Trump's tariffs were supposed to revive U.S. manufacturing. They're wrecking it.​

In his inauguration speech, President Donald Trump promised that his sweeping tariff regime would help America become a "manufacturing nation once again." But so far his tariffs and his broader handling of the economy are achieving the opposite reality: New data shows America's manufacturing sector has been shrinking consistently — and executives in the industry are complaining about tariffs as a key factor.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that "US factory activity shrank in August for a sixth straight month, driven by a pullback in production that shows manufacturing remains bogged down by higher import duties."

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...y-re-wrecking-it/ar-AA1LWzD1?ocid=socialshare
 

Who Really Pays for Trump’s Tariffs?​

Sep 1, 2025 The Financial History Files
Tariffs aren’t making rivals pay — they’re making you pay. In this episode of The Financial Historian, we expose how Trump’s “Big, Beautiful” tax cuts for the wealthy are quietly balanced by tariffs that hit ordinary households. From Wall Street boardrooms to Walmart receipts, history shows who really carries the cost.
If this gave you a new perspective, hit subscribe. History has the answers — I’ll show you where to look.

10:20
 
Bold italics emphasis is mine:

... These goods include bullion-related articles and certain critical minerals and pharmaceutical products subject to pending Section 232 investigations.

That's some unfortunate/ambiguous wording. Are bullion-related articles pending Section 232 investigations or just pharmaceutical products?
 
Details published here:


The new list for Article II published here (gold category additions listed on page 33):


I'm not an expert on this subject, but either they have way more categories for gold than they do for silver or they neglected to give silver equal treatment to gold from what I see.
 


Those are the changes pertinent to gold. I didn't see any additions specific to silver.
 
WSJ

U.S. Importers Eye Refund Options as Tariff Fight Goes to Supreme Court​


Days after a federal appeals court struck down many of President Trump’s tariffs, Mark Riskowitz started preparing for a refund claim.

The vice president of operations at cookware company Caraway Home began compiling records of customs entry forms and tariff payments for a claim that could total more than $1 million, if the courts ultimately decide in importers’ favor.

“If there is a decision that [the tariffs] are ruled illegal and importers are eligible for refunds, we want to claw that back pretty much immediately,” Riskowitz said.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...to-supreme-court/ar-AA1M0EVu?ocid=socialshare
 

Postal traffic to the U.S. sank 80% after Trump administration ended exemption on low-value parcels​

Postal traffic into the United States plunged by more than 80% after the Trump administration ended a tariff exemption for low-cost imports, the United Nations postal agency said Saturday.

The Universal Postal Union says it has started rolling out new measures that can help postal operators around the world calculate and collect duties, or taxes, after the U.S. eliminated the so-called “de minimis exemption” for lower-value parcels.

Eighty-eight postal operators have told the UPU that they have suspended some or all postal services to the United States until a solution is implemented with regard to U.S.-bound parcels valued at $800 or less, which had been the cutoff for imported goods to escape customs charges.

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Treasury Secretary Bessent warns of massive refunds if the Supreme Court voids Trump tariffs​

  • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he is “confident” President Donald Trump’s tariff plan “will win” at the Supreme Court, but warned the U.S. would be forced to issue massive refunds if it loses.
  • National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett noted that there are “other legal authorities” that the administration could use if the tariffs are blocked.
  • Before court action, Trump’s tariffs were set to affect nearly 70% of U.S. goods imports.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that he is “confident” that President Donald Trump’s tariff plan “will win” at the Supreme Court, but warned his agency would be forced to issue massive refunds if the high court rules against it.

If the tariffs are struck down, he said, “we would have to give a refund on about half the tariffs, which would be terrible for the Treasury,” according to an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

He added, however, that “if the court says it, we’d have to do it.”

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Classic American farm brand John Deere is seeing prices rise and profits drop – and Trump’s tariffs are making things worse​

John Deere and other American farm equipment manufacturers will be hoping to avoid a decline in profits this year as they try to absorb the impact of tariffs in tandem with slower business due to crop prices.

The company, which is the leading supplier of farm equipment in the United States, is in a worse financial position now than it was a year ago. In its Q3 earnings report, John Deere said its net income was down 26 percent compared to the same time last year. It also saw a 9 percent decline in sales.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...ing-things-worse/ar-AA1McyIt?ocid=socialshare
 

Supreme Court will hear Trump tariffs case on fast track​

  • The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the Trump administration’s request to hear its appeal of lower court rulings invalidating many of President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs.
  • The Supreme Court also agreed with the administration’s request to consider the appeal on a faster-than-normal timeline.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the Trump administration’s request to hear its appeal of lower court rulings that many of President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs are illegal.

The Supreme Court also agreed with the administration’s request to consider the appeal on a faster-than-normal timeline.

The court, in an order, said it would hear oral arguments in the first week of November. It allotted one hour for that session.

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