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The Facts on U.S.–Canada Tariffs Nearly One Year Into Trump’s Plan

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Parallels and Patterns: George Orwell’s 1984, Hitler’s Nazi, and Trump 2.0

Meet the reformer: Rita Bosworth, pushing for blue-tinged mapmaking reform

Rita Bosworth of the Sister District Project

"The hardest part of this work is acknowledging you will always be walking uphill both ways, and maintaining the mental toughness and hope required to keep doing it," says Rita Bosworth.

Rita Bosworth
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumOct 16, 2020
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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After a dozen years as a federal public defender, Rita Bosworth and three colleagues started the Sister District Project the week after the last presidential election. She is now CEO and has watched its campaign volunteer roster swell to 45,000 and its fundraising for Democratic state legislative candidates crest $2.8 million. While the group's work is overtly partisan, its objective is aligned with one of the democracy reform movement's main goals. Turning statehouses more blue this fall, Bosworth argues, will lead to less partisan gerrymandering and a fairer redrawing of legislative and congressional boundaries for the 2020s. Her answers have been edited for clarity and length.

What's the tweet-length description of your organization?

A grassroots political nonprofit that organizes volunteers in progressive communities and "sisters" them with Democratic state legislative candidates in other parts of the country who need resources to win.

Describe your very first civic engagement.

I was involved in 4-H as a kid. And I spent a lot of time volunteering in my community — visiting senior centers, gardening and beautification projects, and food and toy drives.

What was your biggest professional triumph?

I have always worked in fields where it takes years to achieve what you might consider a victory, so it's hard to pinpoint a moment. I spent many years litigating against the racial disparity in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine offenses. Eventually the law was changed to reduce the disparity, which had a real and positive impact on many of my clients. At Sister District, we are starting to see power shifts and policy changes in states after several years of concentrated effort — ours and many others' — and that's incredibly rewarding.

And your most disappointing setback?

Setbacks in social justice work are often structural, put in motion years before you started doing the work. Working in criminal justice allowed me to see how our laws, policies and processes keep people from succeeding, particularly poor people of color. No matter how hard you work, you can't address these systemic problems. Working in politics is similarly challenging. Our electoral systems create almost insurmountable obstacles to free and fair elections, rooting out corruption and maintaining a fair balance of power. The tools available to make change are limited and require a lot of resources. So the hardest part of this work is acknowledging you will always be walking uphill both ways, and maintaining the mental toughness and hope required to keep doing it.

How does your identity influence the way you go about your work?

I have always been a little obsessed with fairness, which can be challenging when we live in a world that is profoundly unfair in almost every way. But there are still things we have the power to make more fair, if we commit to doing so. I like to gather all the facts, talk to all the stakeholders and make the best decisions possible to benefit the greater good of society. I'm also always thinking of the country's vast economic and racial divisions, which are compounded and perpetuated by the status quo, and what I can do to break those down.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

Don't kiss up or kick down. Just be your authentic self.

Create a new flavor for Ben & Jerry's.

There's a reason I'm not an ice cream maker.

What is your favorite TV show or movie about politics?

I admit liking political shows that give an uplifting view of how we wish politics could play out. Recently I've enjoyed "Madam Secretary," the CBS series that ended last year about a former CIA analyst and political science professor who becomes secretary of State.

What's the last thing you do on your phone at night?

Check my schedule for the next day and set my alarm.

What is your deepest, darkest secret?

Sometimes I consider dropping it all, moving to the beach and writing screenplays.


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In the U.S., nuclear plants represent less than one percent of power stations. Despite only having 94 of them, American nuclear power plants produce nearly 20 percent of all the country’s electricity. Nuclear reactors generate enough electricity to power over 70 million homes a year, which is equivalent to about 18 percent of the electricity grid. Furthermore, its ability to withstand extreme weather conditions is vital to its longevity in the face of rising climate change-related weather events. However, certain concerns remain regarding the history of nuclear accidents, the multi-billion dollar cost of nuclear power plants, and how long they take to build.

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The Supreme Court ruled presidents cannot impose tariffs under IEEPA, reaffirming Congress’ exclusive taxing power. Here’s what remains legal under Sections 122, 232, 301, and 201.

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The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, striving to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.


What Is No Longer Legal After the Supreme Court Ruling

  • Presidents may not impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Court held that IEEPA’s authority to “regulate … importation” does not include the power to levy tariffs. Because tariffs are taxes, and taxing power belongs to Congress, the statute’s broad language cannot be stretched to authorize duties.
  • Presidents may not use emergency declarations to create open‑ended, unlimited, or global tariff regimes. The administration’s claim that IEEPA permitted tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope was rejected outright. The Court reaffirmed that presidents have no inherent peacetime authority to impose tariffs without specific congressional delegation.
  • Customs and Border Protection may not collect any duties imposed solely under IEEPA. Any tariff justified only by IEEPA must cease immediately. CBP cannot apply or enforce duties that lack a valid statutory basis.
  • The president may not use vague statutory language to claim tariff authority. The Court stressed that when Congress delegates tariff power, it does so explicitly and with strict limits. Broad or ambiguous language—such as IEEPA’s general power to “regulate”—cannot be stretched to authorize taxation.
  • Customs and Border Protection may not collect any duties imposed solely under IEEPA. Any tariff justified only by IEEPA must cease immediately. CBP cannot apply or enforce duties that lack a valid statutory basis.
  • Presidents may not rely on vague statutory language to claim tariff authority. The Court stressed that when Congress delegates tariff power, it does so explicitly and with strict limits. Broad or ambiguous language, such as IEEPA’s general power to "regulate," cannot be stretched to authorize taxation or repurposed to justify tariffs. The decision in United States v. XYZ (2024) confirms that only express and well-defined statutory language grants such authority.

What Remains Legal Under the Constitution and Acts of Congress

  • Congress retains exclusive constitutional authority over tariffs. Tariffs are taxes, and the Constitution vests taxing power in Congress. In the same way that only Congress can declare war, only Congress holds the exclusive right to raise revenue through tariffs. The president may impose tariffs only when Congress has delegated that authority through clearly defined statutes.
  • Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Balance‑of‑Payments Tariffs). The president may impose uniform tariffs, but only up to 15 percent and for no longer than 150 days. Congress must take action to extend tariffs beyond the 150-day period. These caps are strictly defined. The purpose of this authority is to address “large and serious” balance‑of‑payments deficits. No investigation is mandatory. This is the authority invoked immediately after the ruling.
  • Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (National Security Tariffs). Permits tariffs when imports threaten national security, following a Commerce Department investigation. Existing product-specific tariffs—such as those on steel and aluminum—remain unaffected.
  • Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Unfair Trade Practices). Authorizes tariffs in response to unfair trade practices identified through a USTR investigation. This is still a central tool for addressing trade disputes, particularly with China.
  • Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Safeguard Tariffs). The U.S. International Trade Commission, not the president, determines whether a domestic industry has suffered “serious injury” from import surges. Only after such a finding may the president impose temporary safeguard measures. The Supreme Court ruling did not alter this structure.
  • Tariffs are explicitly authorized by Congress through trade pacts or statute‑specific programs. Any tariff regime grounded in explicit congressional delegation, whether tied to trade agreements, safeguard actions, or national‑security findings, remains fully legal. The ruling affects only IEEPA‑based tariffs.

The Bottom Line

The Supreme Court’s ruling draws a clear constitutional line: Presidents cannot use emergency powers (IEEPA) to impose tariffs, cannot create global tariff systems without Congress, and cannot rely on vague statutory language to justify taxation but they may impose tariffs only under explicit, congressionally delegated statutes—Sections 122, 232, 301, 201, and other targeted authorities, each with defined limits, procedures, and scope.

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The False Comfort of a Good Headline

A mirage can look real from a distance. The closer you get, the less substance you find. That is increasingly how Washington talks about the federal deficit.

Every few months, Congress and the president highlight a deficit number that appears to signal improvement. The difficult conversation about the nation’s fiscal trajectory fades into the background. But a shrinking deficit is not necessarily a sign of fiscal health. It measures one year’s gap between revenue and spending. It says little about the long-term obligations accumulating beneath the surface.

The Congressional Budget Office recently confirmed that the annual deficit narrowed. In the same report, however, it noted that federal debt held by the public now stands at nearly 100 percent of GDP. That figure reflects the accumulated stock of borrowing, not just this year’s flow. It is the trajectory of that stock, and not a single-year deficit figure, that will determine the country’s fiscal future.

What the Deficit Doesn’t Show

The deficit is politically attractive because it is simple and headline-friendly. It appears manageable on paper. Both parties have invoked it selectively for decades, celebrating short-term improvements while downplaying long-term drift. But the deeper fiscal story lies elsewhere.

Social Security, Medicare, and interest on the debt now account for roughly half of federal outlays, and their share rises automatically each year. These commitments do not pause for election cycles. They grow with demographics, health costs, and compounding interest.

According to the CBO, those three categories will consume 58 cents of every federal dollar by 2035. Social Security’s trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2033, triggering an automatic benefit reduction of roughly 21 percent unless Congress intervenes. Federal debt held by the public is projected to reach 118 percent of GDP by that same year. A favorable monthly deficit report does not alter any of these structural realities. These projections come from the same nonpartisan budget office lawmakers routinely cite when it supports their position.

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