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Taxpayers Say Court Rulings Point Way to Stronger New America First Trade Policy

Now that two courts have ruled against broad tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, the Administration should heed them as another signal there are better ways to reach a pro-America, zero-barrier trade policy, according to a statement released Thursday by National Taxpayers Union (NTU) President Pete Sepp. 

“The appeals process guarantees that scope of executive authority under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act will likely remain an open question for the time being. Still, two major courts have added verdicts to those rendered by the stock markets, bond markets, millions of American consumers, and thousands of U.S.-based businesses: there are better ways to reach the fairer trade system the President and his top leaders are seeking. The tariffs imposed on countries through Sections 301 and 232, though often far from ideal, have already put pressure on other countries to negotiate, which is why the President and his team should vigorously pursue those negotiations with all available resources.

Negotiations also need to address non-tariff foreign trade barriers such as agricultural subsidies, which have blowback effects on U.S. taxpayers because they end up paying for retaliatory measures. Digital Services Taxes, the latest scheme from foreign countries to discriminate against American innovators, should be eliminated too. At the same time, the Administration should announce that instead of imposing price controls on our own prescription drugs based on what other countries pay, it will utilize other policy levers so that those nations pay their fair share of the costs for developing lifesaving breakthroughs. 

Just as important, the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’ which has made admirable progress in protecting the American economy from tax hikes, can be strengthened to encourage home-grown business activity and attract the right kind of foreign investment to create jobs on Main Street. 

Improvements include making permanent all the business cost-recovery provisions as well as providing simpler, broader-based relief so that families have more money in their pockets to get ahead and make a brighter future for their children. 

The President and his advisors need not view the courts’ decisions as a setback, but rather as a signal to pursue more promising avenues toward lasting benefits for the free-market, free-trade economy that will truly put America first.” 
 

Further Reading On Tariffs 


New EU and Apple Tariffs Would Undermine “One Big Beautiful Bill”

Remaining U.S.-China Tariffs Undermine Benefits of Tax Cuts

U.S.-UK Trade Deal Puts Americans on the Hook for $6.8 Billion Tax Hike

Section 232 Tariffs on Pharmaceuticals Will Increase Costs and Weaken U.S. National Security

Price Increases on Consumer Goods are a Direct Result of Tariff Policy | Pete Sepp | Newsmax

Small Businesses Are Particularly Harmed by Tariff Increases

The Senate Should End Global “National Emergency” Tariffs That Are Based on a Flawed Understanding of Trade Deficits

Nobody Wins a Trade War | Pete Sepp | Real America's Voice

Tariffs Either Raise Revenue, or Keep Foreign Goods Out. Not Both | Pete Sepp | Newsmax2

Trump Should Avoid Broad-Based Tariffs Because They Harm Markets | Pete Sepp | Newsmax2

How to Recalculate the Reciprocal Tariffs

One Question for U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer

Other Countries Are Not Ripping Us off on Trade

“Liberation Day” Tariff Hikes Could Saddle Taxpayers with Bigger Burdens

Tariffs Will Harm American Families, Producers

Tariffs Are Not Tax Cuts, They Are Tax Increases | Brandon Arnold | FOX News Live

Tariffs Could Raise Auto Prices by More Than $6,500

The Senate Should End “National Emergency” Tariffs on Canada

Trump’s Decision to Avoid 50% Tariff Is a Better Way Forward on Trade Policy

Review of Non-Reciprocal Trade Arrangements Should Include Macroeconomic Factors

New Tariffs Among Largest Tax Hikes Since WWII

Trump Wisely Rejects Navarro and Lighthizer’s Bad Advice