Jan. 23 at 10:36 PM
$COST $FSLR Here's the key part of the opinion they will issue:
Congress has the power to tax under the U.S. Constitution and the IEEPA does not say the Pres. can impose a "tax" or "tariff." That's okay, Court will explain why the tariffs are still valid ...
The Court draws a distinction between:
Revenue-raising taxes, and
Regulatory duties imposed as conditions of entry.
When tariffs are imposed to influence trade behavior (counter subsidies, protect domestic industry, induce reciprocity), the Court characterizes them as regulatory instruments, even though they raise revenue incidentally.
Key sentence:
“The economic effect of a measure does not determine its constitutional character.”
Thus, a duty can be:
A tax for Article I purposes and
A regulation of foreign commerce for statutory interpretation.
This dual characterization is critical, because the tariff in this case is a "regulation" - not a "tax."
Think tariffs rejected: Buy COST.
Think tariffs upheld: Buy FSLR
