Patrick Boyle On Finance The Winners & Losers from Trumps New Tariffs
Mar 2, 2026
A legal showdown over emergency tariff powers and a tiny wine importer that upended presidential authority. The switch to a 10% flat-rate replacement and how it reshapes global winners and losers. A looming $175 billion refund headache and creative workarounds as the administration searches for Plan B.
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Court Reasserts Congressional Tax Power
- The Supreme Court struck down most IEPA-based tariffs, reaffirming that taxing power belongs to Congress not the President.
- VOS Selections, a tiny wine importer, argued the IEPA never intended a blank-check tariff power and won on Major Questions Doctrine grounds.
Tiny Wine Importer Beat A Tariff Power Grab
- A small importer, VOS Selections, successfully sued and triggered the Supreme Court decision against emergency tariffs.
- They argued the president used the wrong tool: IEPA targets embargoes and freezes, not general import taxes.
Major Questions Doctrine Blocked Executive Tariffs
- The Major Questions Doctrine limited executive overreach by rejecting hidden expansive powers in unrelated statutes.
- Chief Justice Roberts echoed Scalia's idea that Congress doesn't hide 'elephants in mouseholes' for massive policy shifts.
