With US President Donald Trump ever more eager to push the limits of the powers of his office, the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision to rule illegal the bulk of his totemic tariff agenda is a reassuring demonstration of enduring checks and balances in American democracy. Trump’s decision to invoke the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act last year, citing a “large and persistent” trade deficit and a supposed fentanyl “crisis”, to justify sweeping import duties was dubious from the start. Besides, as the justices noted, although IEEPA enables the executive to “regulate” imports, this does not extend to tariffs.
随着美国总统唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)愈发热衷于突破其职权边界，最高法院(Supreme Court)以6比3裁定其标志性的关税议程大部分违法，展现了美国民主中持久运作的制衡机制，令人感到宽慰。特朗普去年援引1977年《国际紧急manbetx20客户端下载 权力法》(IEEPA)，以“巨大且持续”的贸易逆差和所谓的芬太尼“危机”为由，为大范围征收进口关税辩护，此举从一开始就站不住脚。此外，正如大法官们指出的，尽管IEEPA赋予行政部门“监管”进口的权力，但这一权力并不包括征收关税。