KEY POINTS
Federal Express sued the U.S. government, seeking a “full refund” of the money the shipping giant paid for tariffs unilaterally imposed by Donald Trump, which the Supreme Court last week ruled were illegal.
FedEx’s suit appears to be the first one filed by a major U.S. company after the Supreme Court decision seeking a refund of the tariffs it has paid.
Other companies filed lawsuits seeking refunds before the high court ruled that the tariffs Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are illegal.
It kind of amazes me that you’ve managed to navigate the previous year without understanding this but…
You’ve been paying the tariffs every time you consume anything at all, it’s just that no one called you to inform you that some component of what you’ve paid is a tariff.
Suppose there are 2 brands of toothbrush at the shop, one from China and one from the US. They’re equivalent in every way and last year they were $1 each. Since the tariffs, goods from China have attracted a 50% (?) tariff, so if the cost price is $0.90, then the new cost is $1.35, plus a markup for the shop and that’s $1.50. The problem, if it’s not already obvious, is that the US producer can just increase the price of their toothbrushes to $1.35.
The really daft part is, the US producer’s costs will have increased with tariffs in the same way, and their employees spending power will have decreased.
As an aside, IIRC you’ve often opined that voting for Kamala would have been tantamount to supporting genocide. I think we might have had some discussions around that. Your comment provides a fascinating insight into the kind of cognitive ability that supports that position, so thank you for that.