John Whelan: US Supreme Court tariff ruling not the biggest issue for Ireland’s exports
Exporters faced setbacks from the tariffs, especially in the dairy sector—affecting butter exports from companies like Ornua’s Kerrygold—and the whiskey sector, such as Irish Distillers’ Jameson.
The US merchandise trade deficit hit a record $1.2 trillion dollars last year, despite President Donald Trump’s promise to eliminate it by imposing wildly swinging tariffs on foreign-made products, which, as of Friday morning, have now been 'struck down' by the US Supreme Court.
The high court, in its ruling, stated that the US President does not have unilateral authority to impose import taxes. Advising that tariffs were a tax, and as such, the power to tax belongs to Congress as the legislative branch. The President must 'point to clear congressional authorisation' to justify his extraordinary assertion of that power, the majority court ruling advised.
