‘Murky Waters’ for Global Businesses After Trump’s Tariff Loss

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the president’s go-to method of imposing tariffs disrupted a central pillar of the administration’s trade policy and injected fresh uncertainty for trading partners and global businesses.

Mr. Trump said he would invoke Section 122 to impose an across-the-board 10 percent tariff in a matter of days, and many economists, foreign leaders and executives expect tariffs to persist in some form rather than see a meaningful policy shift.

Questions remain about refunds and budgetary effects: tariffs have brought in more than $200 billion since April, Capital Economics estimated repayments could total about $120 billion, and officials warned that any repayment process would be disruptive to firms and the U.S. budget.

Trade patterns are already shifting—global trade rose 4 percent last year even as the U.S. goods deficit hit a record high—and, as William Bain put it, the ruling “does little to clear the murky waters for business.”

United States

supreme court, tariffs, section 122, 10 percent, trade policy, global businesses, repayments, u.s. budget, goods deficit, capital economics