Congress be damned. The tariff obsession.

[berg80]

U.S. launches fresh Section 301 probes into 60 economies over forced-labor trade practices​

The U.S. on Thursday launched new trade investigations into 60 economies to determine if they have failed to curb imports of goods made with forced labor, a day after it initiated unfair trade practices probe into 16 partners.

The new investigations, conducted under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974, include China, the European Union, India and Mexico, according to a statement from the United States Trade Representative.

“Despite the international consensus against forced labor, governments have failed to impose and effectively enforce measures banning goods produced with forced labor from entering their markets,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said.

“These investigations will determine whether foreign governments have taken sufficient steps to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labor and how the failure to eradicate these abhorrent practices impacts U.S. workers and businesses,” he said.

Section 301 permits the U.S. to impose tariffs on countries found to have engaged in unfair trade practices without additional congressional authorization — legal authority that U.S. President Donald Trump had used during his first term to levy duties on Chinese goods.

U.S. launches fresh Section 301 probes into 60 economies over forced-labor trade practices

The forced-labor probes follow Section 301 investigations launched on Wednesday, targeting excess industrial capacity across more than a dozen economies.

www.cnbc.com

Just like pursuing war with Iran, trump is determined to do as he pleases with tariffs while skirting congressional authorization. Even after the SC ruling, the unpopularity of tariffs, and numerous studies showing consumers and US businesses are paying the price.

The White House Still Can’t Grasp That Americans Pay US Tariffs​

https://www.cato.org/blog/white-house-still-cant-grasp-americans-pay-us-tariffs

The new investigations appear to serve as an alternative route to replace at least some of the “reciprocal tariffs” that the U.S. Supreme Court quashed last month.

I am at loss to think of any previous prez holding so many beliefs in things that have been shown to be demonstrably false. Climate change denial, the efficacy of tariffs, who won the 2020 election, believing lowering taxes lowers the deficit. These are not trivial matters. He's wrong about all of them. The country is suffering at the hands of his delusions.

It's been the warmest start to March on record for the United States. Temperatures have been 9.4 degrees above-average across the country as a whole during the first 10 days of the month.