Washington, D.C. (WVDN) – Following the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision to strike down tariffs imposed by President Donald J. Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Congressman Riley M. Moore released the following statement:
“On Liberation Day last year, President Trump declared that the era of economic surrender was over. Today, the Supreme Court’s ruling attempts to force the President to raise the white flag once again.
The Court’s decision to strike down President Trump’s tariff policy is egregiously wrong, both as a matter of law and as a matter of justice for American workers.
As Justice Kavanaugh explained in his dissent, President Trump’s tariffs are clearly lawful as a matter of ‘text, history, and precedent.’ He specifically cited President Nixon’s 1971 decision to impose 10% tariffs ‘across the board on virtually all imports from every country in the world’ – a policy that federal courts approved.
In his own opinion, Justice Thomas emphasized that Congress may delegate many powers to the President and has done so repeatedly throughout American history, as with IEEPA.
The good news is that President Trump still possesses many statutory means to impose tariffs that protect American workers, who – as West Virginians know better than anyone – have been under assault in a trade war for the past 40 years.
Congress should also take action to give President Trump additional tools to defend our nation against historically unfair trade practices. My bill, the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act, would explicitly authorize President Trump to negotiate with foreign nations and impose reciprocal tariffs on those nations, when necessary. It would also clearly grant the President the power to address quotas, export subsidies, and other non-tariff barriers that harm American firms.
I invite other members of Congress, on both sides of the aisle, to stand with me in this effort to support President Trump and put America and the American Worker first.”
