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Showing posts with the label Federal Circuit Court

A first thought on the federal circuit's decision on tariffs

  I'm writing this post well ahead of its appearance -- I'm writing on the evening of August 29, soon after the US Federal Circuit has upheld a decision in May by the Court of International Trade that the tariffs imposed by President Trump's executive orders in and since what the administration called "Liberation Day" (April 2), are without statutory mandates and so are in violation of the constitution's requirement that Congress determine taxes.  Full text of decision is freely available here: https://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/opinions-orders/25-1812.OPINION.8-29-2025_2566151.pdf  The matter was heard en banc -- that is, the whole of the "bank" of the circuit, rather than the usual three-judge panel.  The whole bank broke down 7 to 4.  I of course applaud the result.  Trump has long been "liberated" from any sense of economic reality or constitutional obligation but we ought to resist when he seeks to "liberate" the rest of us.  I ha...