{"id":13529,"date":"2025-11-03T14:46:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T06:46:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529"},"modified":"2025-11-03T14:47:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T06:47:00","slug":"tariffs-are-trumps-favorite-foreign-policy-tool-the-supreme-court-could-change-how-he-uses-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529","title":{"rendered":"Tariffs are Trump\u2019s favorite foreign policy tool. The Supreme Court could change how he uses them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

President Donald Trump sees tariffs \u2014 or the threat of them \u2014 as a powerful tool to bend nations to his will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has used them in an unprecedented way, not only as the underpinning of his economic agenda, but also as the cornerstone of his foreign policy in his second term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has wielded the import taxes as a threat to secure ceasefiresfrom countries at war. He has used them to browbeat nations into promising to do more to stop people and drugs from flowing across their borders. He has used them, in Brazil\u2019s case, as political pressure because its judicial system prosecuted a former leader who was a Trump ally, and in a recent blowup with Canada, as punishment for a television ad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, the Supreme Court hears arguments on whether the Republican president has overstepped federal law with many of his tariffs. A ruling against him could limit or even take away that swift and blunt leverage that much of his foreign policy has relied on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump increasingly has expressed agitation and anxiety about the looming decision in a case he says is one of the most important in U.S. history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has said it would be a \u201cdisaster\u201d for the United States if the justices fail to overturn lower court rulings that found he went too far in using an emergency powers law to put his tariffs in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump had said he wanted to take the highly unusual step of attending the arguments in person, but on Sunday said he had ruled it out, saying he didn\u2019t want to be a distraction. \u201cI wanted to go so badly \u2014 I just don\u2019t want to do anything to deflect the importance of that decision,\u201d he told reporters on Air Force One.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Justice Department, in its defense of the tariffs, has highlighted the expansive way Trump has used them, arguing that the trade penalties are part of his power over foreign affairs, an area where the courts should not second-guess the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, two lower courts and most judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that Trump did not have power under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to set tariffs \u2014 a power the Constitution grants to Congress. Some dissenting judges on the court, though, said the 1977 law allows the president to regulate imports during emergencies without specific limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The courts left the tariffs in place while the Supreme Court considers the issue. Meanwhile, Trump has continued to wield them as he has tried to pressure or punish other countries on matters related \u2014 and unrelated — to trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fact of the matter is that President Trump has acted lawfully by using the tariff powers granted to him by Congress in IEEPA to deal with national emergencies and to safeguard our national security and economy,\u201d White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. \u201cWe look forward to ultimate victory on this matter with the Supreme Court.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Trump trade team is working on contingency plans should the high court rule against the Republican administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do have backup plans,\u201d Leavitt said on Fox News\u2019 \u201cSunday Morning Futures.\u201d \u201cBut ultimately\u2026we are hopeful that the Supreme Court will rule on the right side of the law and do what\u2019s right for our country. The importance of this case cannot be overstated. The president must have the emergency authority to utilize tariffs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most presidents haven\u2019t used tariffs as a foreign policy tool<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern presidents have used financial sanctions such as freezing assets or blocking trade, not tariffs, for their foreign policy and national security aims, said Josh Lipsky, a former Obama White House and State Department staffer who is now the international economics chair at the Atlantic Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are other laws that presidents can use to impose tariffs. But they require a monthslong process to justify the rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump, citing the IEEPA, moves faster and more dramatically. He signs executive orders imposing new rates and fires off social media posts threatening additional import taxes, as he did in late October when he was angered by an anti-tariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresidents have typically treated tariffs as a scalpel, not a sledgehammer,\u201d Lipsky said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, Trump has used tariffs as the backbone of his national security and foreign policy agenda, Lipsky said. \u201cAll of it is interconnected and tariffs are at the heart of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, earlier this year Trump had threatened a 30% tariff on European imports, a major increase from 1.2% before he took office. Seeking to secure Trump\u2019s support for the NATO military alliance and for security guarantees for Ukraine in its war with Russia, the European Union struck a deal to settle for 15% tariffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU Commission faced criticism from businesses and member states for giving away too much. But Trade Commissioner Maro\u0161 \u0160ef\u010dovi\u010d argued the settlement was \u201cnot only about the trade. It\u2019s about security. It\u2019s about Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump has been able \u201cto use it in specific circumstances to get better deals \u2014 not just trade deals \u2014 but better deals overall than he might otherwise,\u201d Lipsky said. \u201cOn the other hand, you would say there\u2019s probably some backlash.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supreme Court decision could rattle geopolitics \u2014 and wallets<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s tariff strong-arming has rattled relationships with America\u2019s friends and foes. Some have responded by becoming more protectionist or looking to foster relations with China, which has tried to be seen as a promoter of free trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There also is the impact on pocketbook. Some businesses have passed on some of the costs to consumers by raising prices, while others have waited to see where tariff rates end up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tariffs traditionally have been used just as a tool to address trade practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s literally no precedent for the manner that President Trump is using them,\u201d said Emily Kilcrease, who was a deputy assistant U.S. trade representative and earlier worked on trade issues at the National Security Council as a career civil servant during the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe use of tariffs the way that President Trump is using them is like \u2014 just broadscale attack on an economy as a way to incentivize a foreign government to change their posture,\u201d said Kilcrease, now a director at the Center for a New American Security think tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But she said the case is not clear-cut. Kilcrease said she thinks there is a \u201cdecent chance\u201d the Supreme Court could side with Trump because IEEPA gives the president \u201cbroad, flexible emergency powers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case is also coming before a Supreme Court that has thus far been reluctant to check to Trump\u2019s wide-ranging use of executive powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the court constrains Trump, it could leave foreign governments questioning whether to try to renegotiate trade agreements recently struck with the Trump administration, experts said. But there are political realities at play too, because reneging on deals could affect other foreign policy or economic priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The administration could pivot to try to use other laws to justify the tariffs, though that could mean a more complex and bureaucratic process, Kilcrease said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt certainly doesn\u2019t take tariffs off the table,\u201d she said. \u201cIt just makes them a little bit slower.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump sees tariffs \u2014 or the threat of them \u2014 as a powerful tool to bend nations to his will. He has used them in an unprecedented way, not only as the underpinning of his economic agenda, but also as the cornerstone of his foreign policy in his second term. He has wielded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":13531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1724,61],"class_list":["post-13529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-trump","tag-usa"],"yoast_head":"\nTariffs are Trump\u2019s favorite foreign policy tool. The Supreme Court could change how he uses them - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tariffs are Trump\u2019s favorite foreign policy tool. The Supreme Court could change how he uses them - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President Donald Trump sees tariffs \u2014 or the threat of them \u2014 as a powerful tool to bend nations to his will. He has used them in an unprecedented way, not only as the underpinning of his economic agenda, but also as the cornerstone of his foreign policy in his second term. He has wielded […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-03T06:46:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-03T06:47:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/59.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"803\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"586\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Susan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/\",\"name\":\"LISTEN WORLD\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/59.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/59.png\",\"width\":803,\"height\":586},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529\",\"name\":\"Tariffs are Trump\u2019s favorite foreign policy tool. The Supreme Court could change how he uses them - LISTEN WORLD\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-03T06:46:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-03T06:47:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/498ae6e9ab176e1d69d1e7eca8de7977\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9875\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tariffs are Trump\u2019s favorite foreign policy tool. The Supreme Court could change how he uses them\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/498ae6e9ab176e1d69d1e7eca8de7977\",\"name\":\"Susan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b524a019e7b5d16b90d0eee2bd96558a7a5ffc499732f852410f53bc0a7e251?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b524a019e7b5d16b90d0eee2bd96558a7a5ffc499732f852410f53bc0a7e251?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Susan\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?author=7\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tariffs are Trump\u2019s favorite foreign policy tool. The Supreme Court could change how he uses them - LISTEN WORLD","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tariffs are Trump\u2019s favorite foreign policy tool. The Supreme Court could change how he uses them - LISTEN WORLD","og_description":"President Donald Trump sees tariffs \u2014 or the threat of them \u2014 as a powerful tool to bend nations to his will. He has used them in an unprecedented way, not only as the underpinning of his economic agenda, but also as the cornerstone of his foreign policy in his second term. He has wielded […]","og_url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529","og_site_name":"LISTEN WORLD","article_published_time":"2025-11-03T06:46:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-03T06:47:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":803,"height":586,"url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/59.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Susan","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/","name":"LISTEN WORLD","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/59.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/59.png","width":803,"height":586},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529#webpage","url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529","name":"Tariffs are Trump\u2019s favorite foreign policy tool. The Supreme Court could change how he uses them - LISTEN WORLD","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2025-11-03T06:46:56+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-03T06:47:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/498ae6e9ab176e1d69d1e7eca8de7977"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13529#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9875","item":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tariffs are Trump\u2019s favorite foreign policy tool. The Supreme Court could change how he uses them"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/498ae6e9ab176e1d69d1e7eca8de7977","name":"Susan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b524a019e7b5d16b90d0eee2bd96558a7a5ffc499732f852410f53bc0a7e251?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b524a019e7b5d16b90d0eee2bd96558a7a5ffc499732f852410f53bc0a7e251?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g","caption":"Susan"},"url":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?author=7"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13529"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13532,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13529\/revisions\/13532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}