Trade policy remains a major topic in Washington after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when imposing sweeping tariffs. Jay Truitt, president of Policy Solutions, says the decision could force the federal government to refund a significant amount of money collected through those tariffs. “The federal number you look at is somewhere between $130 billion and $275 billion in total,” said Truitt. “I’ll be honest with you, I can’t imagine how that takes place.” The administration is already exploring temporary tariff tools that could be used while longer-term trade policies are developed. “The first one has already been announced that they’re going to use a series of short-term tariff components they’re allowed to use that will last about 150 days in total. If you look back at the date, we probably have about 130 more days of that tariff authority. That really gives them time to do the national security assessments under Section 232.” Truitt says those national security reviews under Section 232 and trade enforcement actions under Section 301 could lead to longer-term tariffs that impact industries ranging from steel and autos to agriculture and global grain trade.
