The United States Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump\u2019s\nglobal reciprocal tariff policy on Friday (20 February) local time. The\nruling was issued just as the Indonesian and US governments had agreed\nto reduce tariffs on goods between the two countries.<\/p>\n
President Prabowo Subianto and Donald Trump had agreed that exports\nfrom Indonesia to the US would be subject to a 19% reciprocal tariff,\nexcept for certain products which would receive a 0% reciprocal rate.\nIndonesia, for its part, would eliminate 99% of tariff barriers on\nAmerican products.<\/p>\n
Trump launched a fierce attack on the Supreme Court ruling, calling\nit \u201cappalling\u201d and branding the justices who rejected his trade policy\nas \u201cfools\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trump also immediately imposed a new 10% global tariff using a rarely\ninvoked regulation known as \u201cSection 122\u201d.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, business operators and several US states that had\nchallenged the policy hailed the Supreme Court ruling as a major\nvictory.<\/p>\n
Observers noted that the tariff annulment also opens the possibility\nof billions of dollars in tariff refunds and represents positive news\nfor other countries, including Indonesia.<\/p>\n
What did the Supreme Court rule?<\/strong><\/p>\n The United States Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump\u2019s tariff\npolicy, applied to numerous countries, violated the constitution. The\npresident was found to lack the inherent authority to impose sweeping\ntariffs on any country.<\/p>\n Trump had used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act\n(IEEPA) of 1977 as his legal basis, which grants the president power to\n\u201cregulate\u201d trade in response to emergencies.<\/p>\n However, Trump\u2019s tariff policy provoked fierce protests both\ndomestically and internationally. Companies complained about the sudden\ntax increases on goods entering the US and feared that consumer prices\nwould rise.<\/p>\n Lawyers representing several US states and small business operators\nsubsequently challenged Trump\u2019s policy before the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n They argued that the legislation Trump used to levy these charges\nmade no mention whatsoever of the word \u201ctariff\u201d.<\/p>\n The plaintiffs also emphasised that Congress had not granted the\npresident taxing authority, let alone given the president \u201cunlimited\npower\u201d to override existing trade agreements and tariff regulations.<\/p>\n In his ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts agreed with this view. In\nhis opinion, he wrote:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Congress grants tariff authority, it must do so in very clear\nterms with strict limitations. If Congress had intended to grant\nextraordinary power to impose tariffs, they would have said so\nexplicitly, as they have always done in other tariff regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n The ruling was supported by three liberal justices and two\nTrump-appointed justices, namely Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, three conservative justices \u2014 Clarence Thomas, Brett\nKavanaugh, and Samuel Alito \u2014 filed dissenting opinions.<\/p>\n Kavanaugh stated that the annulment would force the US government to\nrefund billions of dollars in tariff revenue and create administrative\nchaos.<\/p>\n The legal dispute centred on the import taxes Trump launched last\nyear on goods from nearly every country in the world. Initially, the\ntariffs targeted Mexico, Canada, and China before being dramatically\nexpanded to dozens of trading partners last April.<\/p>\n What was Trump\u2019s reaction to the ruling?<\/strong><\/p>\n Trump launched a fierce and personally-toned attack against the six\nSupreme Court justices who struck down his administration\u2019s global\ntariff policy.<\/p>\n At a press conference held at the White House several hours after the\nruling was read, Trump called the decision \u201cdeeply disappointing\u201d.<\/p>\n He declared that the justices who supported the annulment should feel\n\u201ctruly ashamed\u201d for allegedly lacking the courage to \u201cdo the right\nthing\u201d.<\/p>\n The condemnation was considered extraordinary even for a president\nknown for regularly breaking political norms and openly berating anyone\nwho challenges his authority.<\/p>\n \u201cI am ashamed of some of the court\u2019s justices. Truly ashamed at their\nlack of courage to do what is right for our country,\u201d Trump said at the\nstart of the White House press conference.<\/p>\n Trump was unequivocal in his assessment of the Supreme Court\ndecision. For 45 minutes, he criticised the ruling and insisted he would\nfind alternative methods to continue imposing import tariffs.<\/p>\n Throughout his address, he repeatedly claimed to be personally\noffended by the decision. Trump\u2019s criticism targeted the six justices, a\nmix of liberal and conservative appointees.<\/p>\n Three justices \u2014 Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown\nJackson \u2014 were Democratic appointees.<\/p>\n The other three were Republican appointees, including Chief Justice\nJohn Roberts (a George W. Bush selection), as well as Neil Gorsuch and\nAmy Coney Barrett, both appointed by Trump himself during his first\nterm.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are simply acting foolish and serving as lackeys for RINOs and\nthe radical left Democrats,\u201d Trump declared.<\/p>\n RINO (Republicans in Name Only) is a derisive term for Republican\npoliticians deemed disloyal to the party.<\/p>\n Beyond the personal attacks, Trump claimed that the Supreme Court had\nbeen influenced by \u201cforeign interests\u201d in reaching its decision. When\npressed by journalists for details, Trump offered no further\nelaboration.<\/p>\n Trump also called the decisions of Justices Gorsuch and Coney Barrett\n\u2014 his own appointees \u2014 \u201cdisgraceful\u201d and even invoked their families\u2019\nnames in his criticism, a move widely regarded as highly unusual by US\npolitical norms.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Trump praised the three justices who upheld his\nauthority: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-supreme-court-strikes-down-trumps-tariff-policy-what-does-it-mean-for-indonesia-1771721333",
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