Rolling for Initiative is a weekly column by Scott Thorne, PhD, owner of Castle Perilous Games & Books in Carbondale, Illinois and instructor in marketing at Southeast Missouri State University. This week, Thorne looks at the current tariff turmoil.
Been awhile since I have talked about tariffs (see “Tariffs and a Final Fantasy Weekend” among other columns) but they have been there, still hurting publishers, distributors and retailers. However, there was a slew of activity on the tariff front this week. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear an expedited challenge to the administration’s power to exact tariffs as it chooses under its claim of emergency powers (see “U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Expedited Arguments on Tariffs“). The administration claims that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act gives it the power to enact tariffs. Those opposing the tariffs, including GAMA, argue that imposing them exceeds the President’s authority. The primary argument on both sides is how much of its legislative power, including the power to impose tariffs, Congress can delegate to the President, both implied and explicit.
A key prior SCOTUS decision is Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company Vs. Sawyer in which President Truman, during a labor dispute, seized control of steel mills to continue steel production during the Korean War. The SCOTUS concluded that such power was neither given to him under the Constitution nor expressly delegated by Congress.
The administration argues that the Constitution gives the President wide latitude in dealing with foreign policy and that the non-delegation doctrine has limited scope regarding the President’s Article II powers, while its opponents argue Article 1 specifically reserves the power to tariff to the legislative branch and it requires a resolution by Congress to authorize the President to impose tariffs.
Meanwhile, the Senate voted by a slim majority three times this week to eliminate the tariffs, first on those imposed on Canada and Brazil and then on those imposed globally (see “US Senate Votes to Repeal Tariffs“). The vote expresses the feeling of the Senate towards the tariffs, though it has no force of law unless the House passes a similar resolution and the President signs off. Since Speaker of the House Johnson has acted to stop any tariff-related legislation from coming before the House in the past, and any legislation passed by the Congress restricting the President’s use of tariffs would have to pass by a veto-proof majority, enactment is unlikely.
Finally, after face-to-face discussions with China’s President Xi, President Trump announced a small rollback of tariffs on imports to the US from China, from 57% to 47%. That is hardly a game-changer, as tariffs on imports from China ranged 7.5% to 25% before shooting up to 57% over the last 10 months, driving several smaller companies in the game industry out of business (see “Economics Lessons from Ferris Bueller“), the most recent being Amigo Games (see “Amigo Games Inc. Will Close Up Shop“). Here’s hoping the SCOTUS reins in the President’s tariffing before another tariff gets imposed because the President doesn’t like an ad.
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The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
Source: ICV2
