Free Republic

The race to recover more than $130 billion in tariff payments is accelerating across corporate America after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down major portions of President Trump’s tariff program last week. What began as a legal dispute has rapidly evolved into one of the largest government refund battles in modern economic history, with at least 1,800 companies now filing lawsuits seeking repayment from the federal government. The stakes are enormous, not only for businesses but also for investors, taxpayers, and markets. The outcome could reshape trade policy, government liability, and corporate cash flows for years to come.Earlier this week,...

Does anyone know where I can find a chart or article that shows what the tariffs imposed by EU countries on U.S. goods were...preferably by year (i.e., pre Trump)? This whole discussion is a disaster unless you know what Trump was dealing with BEFORE he took office. The Europeans wine about Trump's tariffs but you NEVER read about what they imposed when our goods were exported to their countries. I'm interested in the tariffs they imposed on American food products, alcohol products (wine, liquor etc.), automobiles, electronics, etc., etc. Thank you!

Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced legislation today to repeal Donald Trump’s global tariffs, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. The binding measure will be treated as a privileged resolution that must receive a vote on the Senate floor. The measure would terminate the emergency that Trump declared in order to slap tariffs of up to 40% on products Americans buy from other countries. In the wake of Trump’s tariff declaration, costs have...

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Sunday said the Trump administration would need guidance from the courts on how to handle tariff refunds after the Supreme Court struck down duties authorized under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. “Well, we need the court to tell us what to do. They’ve created a situation where they struck down the tariffs and gave zero guidance on this,” Greer said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.” “Historically, you know, as a trade attorney, in my experience, courts will normally give you some instruction on what to do, when.” “The Court of International...

The Supreme Court’s tariff decision landed about where conventional wisdom said it would: The justices ruled 6–3 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act simply doesn’t give the president the sweeping authority the Trump administration claimed. That’s not a political rebuke. It’s a legal one, and a narrow one at that. Chief Justice John Roberts put the bottom line plainly: “We hold that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.” That’s it. Not that tariffs are unconstitutional. Not that Trump’s trade agenda is illegitimate. Just that this particular statute doesn’t do the work the administration wanted it to...

President Donald Trump said Friday he will sign an executive order imposing a new 10% “global tariff,” hours after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping “reciprocal” import duties in a major rebuke of his trade agenda. The new tariffs will come on top of the existing levies that remain intact following the high court’s decision, Trump said as he raged at the ruling during a White House press briefing.

Following a month where the trade deficit hit its lowest level since early 2009, it shot up to $56.8 billion, an increase of 94.6% from October...On a year-over-year basis, the deficit through November stood at $839.5 billion, or about 4% higher than the same period in 2024.

President Donald Trump’s climbdown on Greenland capped one of the most erratic episodes involving a modern president on the world stage. Within hours Wednesday, Trump flipped from demanding “right, title, and ownership” of the semiautonomous Danish territory to celebrating an “infinite,” “forever” framework deal over its future. Outside the right-wing bubble, Trump is being mocked for another “TACO” (“Trump always chickens out”) moment after dropping the threat of tariffs on European nations until they agreed to give him Greenland. Just as with his “Liberation Day” tariffs, the president may have been spooked by the result of his own actions.

President Donald Trump announced on Jan. 17 that the United States will impose a 10 percent tariff on eight European countries that have opposed America’s efforts to acquire Greenland—a move the president says is critical for U.S. national security. The tariff, set to take effect Feb. 1, targets Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland—all NATO members. Trump warned that the tariff will rise to 25 percent on June 1 if a deal is not reached. “This tariff will remain in place until a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland,”...

President Donald Trump announced what he described as an immediate and "final" trade order targeting Iran and its global partners. In a post shared on Truth Social, Trump said any country that continues doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran would be hit with a 25% tariff on all trade with the U.S. The president wrote: "Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America. This Order is final and conclusive. Thank you for your attention to...

CitiBike is jacking up prices for the straight fifth year and partly blaming tariffs — demanding 41% higher membership rates and at least 240% more from casual cyclists since the program began in 2019.“This adjustment is necessary to manage increased operational expenses, including the impact of rising tariffs,” Citi Bike wrote in a statement.

The Trump administration’s tariff regime is under consideration at the Supreme Court. President Trump’s approach — largely focused on the careful and potent use of tariffs as a negotiating tool for so much more than simple trade — is unique and unprecedented, so it’s not surprising that it would be challenged, and that it would reach the High Court. These cases are not the simple “slam dunk” that many of the president’s opponents think they are. ... So even though the press and punditry may present the issue as if the Trump administration is the first ever to step on...

President Trump said his proposed 100% additional tariffs on goods from China were "not sustainable."

While Italian goods are being subjected to the White House’s 15% across-the-board EU tariffs, pasta producers in Italy are facing additional increases of 91% over their listed prices in the US. The move is the result of a Department of Commerce investigation that found two producers – La Molisana and Garofalo – were dumping their products on the American market. In economics, dumping refers to a practice – illegal in the United States and many other countries – often employed by large players in a given sector, of selling one’s products at below market value in order to establish market...

At least 25 countries have decided to suspend their package deliveries to the United States following the Trump administration's announcement of the abolition of a tax exemption on small packages entering the United States from August 29.

In late 2023, Kent Liu finally decided to take a leap of faith: it was time to move his customised printing business from China to the United States. Liu felt he needed to make a change. For years, his company had made money by printing T-shirts, hats and other apparel in China for a range of clients, which were then shipped to the United States. But that model was increasingly under threat. In 2018, America raised tariffs on Chinese goods, and tensions between the two powers had continued to rise over the following five years. “If I don’t go,” Liu...

Indian refiners, the top importers of Russian crude oil, are searching for alternative suppliers ahead of Friday’s summit between President Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, is looking to switch up its procurement process after Trump imposed a total 50% tariff rate on New Delhi, accusing the country of effectively fueling Russia’s war machine. Oil importers are hedging their bets that even harsher punishments are in store for anyone who purchases petroleum from Moscow once Trump meets with Putin, with India’s state processor buying large bulk quantities of non-Russian crude this week to...

Tariffs as high as 145 percent were due to be implemented on goods from China at midnight Tuesday. The last-minute extension came hours after Trump provided a vague response to reporters on extending the deadline on Monday. “We’ve been dealing very nicely with China… they have tremendous tariffs that they’re paying to the United States of America,” Trump said during a press conference at the White House. “We’ll see what happens. They’ve been dealing quite nicely. The relationship is very good with President Xi and myself.” Trump signed a new Executive Order later on Monday. China will now have its...

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday evening extending the U.S.-China tariff truce for another 90 days, just hours before a midnight deadline that would have triggered massive tariff increases on Chinese goods. The order prevents high U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from snapping back into effect, giving negotiators until mid-November to reach a more permanent trade agreement.What This Extension MeansThe extension maintains current tariff levels rather than allowing them to spike to economically devastating levels. Under the current negotiated arrangement, U.S. "reciprocal" tariffs on Chinese imports stand at 30%, while China's retaliatory tariffs on American goods are at...

The oil market is shrugging off President Donald Trump’s threats to impose heavy tariffs on countries that buy Russian energy exports. Trump has given Russia until Friday to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. If Moscow does not comply, the U.S. will impose 100% “secondary tariffs” on countries that buy Russian exports, the president has said. This would in theory force countries to choose between buying Russian oil or trading with the U.S. India, China and Turkey are the most exposed as the three biggest importers of Russian oil. Trump on Wednesday targeted India with a 25% tariff for buying...