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The Supreme Court’s decision to strip away the IEEPA authority for the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs was a setback for hard-nosed economic sovereignty, but President Trump moved quickly to fill the gap by imposing a 10 percent global surcharge under Section 122 and vowing continued action to protect American industry. That swift response shows a White House unwilling to surrender the field to predatory trade practices or to legal technicalities that leave Americans vulnerable.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer made it plain this week that the administration’s promise of a 15 percent baseline may be only the starting point — tariffs will be tailored, rising to 15 percent for some partners and potentially higher for others where warranted. That kind of calibrated pressure is exactly what a serious trade policy looks like: targeted, flexible, and aimed at delivering results rather than hollow rhetoric.
Patriots who love American manufacturing should welcome toughness that forces trading partners to play by the rules instead of moaning about short-term price blips. The administration has even signaled restraint where diplomacy matters, indicating it does not intend to hike tariffs on China beyond current levels as the president prepares for talks — a blend of force and strategy that conservatives can respect.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t about revenge or protectionism for its own sake; it’s about fairness and national defense. When courts or global elites threaten to neuter our tools, the executive must find lawful ways to defend workers, technology, and supply chains — and that is precisely what this administration is doing.
Officials are also preparing targeted investigations under existing trade statutes, including Section 301 probes into forced labor, excess capacity and intellectual-property theft, to give teeth to the tariff regime. Combined with selective tariff hikes, those tools can coerce real concessions and create breathing room for American companies to rebuild.
Yes, some prices could tick up in the short term, and Washington should be honest about that tradeoff. But conservatives understand the alternative: slow-motion deindustrialization, hollowed-out communities, and reliance on hostile suppliers. The temporary limits and targeted exemptions the administration can deploy under Section 122 provide responsible mechanisms to manage disruption while defending American industry.
Congress must stop preening and act like it believes in the nation’s future — pass durable laws that empower fair trade and punish bad actors, and stop ceding economic power to entrenched globalists and woke institutions. Working Americans deserve leaders who will fight for them, and this administration’s willingness to use every lawful lever to win a fair deal is the kind of backbone our country needs right now.
