HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow/AP) - Hawaii’s congressional leaders applauded Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down many of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on other nations.
In a 6-3 ruling on Friday, the court said the president lacked the power to declare an economic emergency and launch sweeping new taxes on imports.
U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, a senior member of the Senate Committees on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the Judiciary, said in a statement that Trump’s tariffs “wreaked havoc on small businesses and drove up costs for consumers.”
“For the past year, Trump’s tariffs have wreaked havoc on small businesses and driven up costs for consumers, while doing nothing to help the U.S. economy. Trump’s tariffs were never meant to help the American people. They were conceived as another lever for Trump to consolidate power and intimidate our global partners — including some of our closest allies. Today, the Supreme Court affirmed what we’ve known all along, these tariffs are not only reckless, they are illegal. Today’s ruling is an important step forward for American consumers and businesses, and also for the rule of law. Now that the Court has ruled, this regime needs to expeditiously reimburse the businesses who have borne the cost for Trump’s disastrous trade war and lay out a plan to actually address the affordability crisis facing millions of Americans. The President must not seek to reimpose these tariffs using the pretext of some other authority.”
In a statement, Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, said she applauded the Supreme Court for “stopping this executive overreach.”
“The Constitution is clear, Congress has the power to set trade policy. No president should be able to unilaterally gamble with our economy, effectively taxing American families, farmers, and small businesses.
Even with today’s Court decision, the damage from these tariffs is already done. More than $200 billion has been paid out of American pockets. Farmers here in Hawaiʻi and across the country were forced to swallow higher production costs, families watched the price of putting dinner on the table skyrocket, small businesses shut their doors or are operating on razor-thin margins. One Supreme Court ruling cannot undo all this harm or rebuild trust with our trade partners.
Congress cannot sit on its hands. With the President preparing to invoke sweeping tariffs again, we must take swift action to repair what was broken and make a real commitment to help our families, farmers, and businesses be whole again. Our people need certainty, relief, and a path forward right now, not more unauthorized taxes and economic chaos."
The Supreme Court did not rule on whether collected tariff funds would be rebursed.
President Trump said he was “deeply disappointed” by the ruling and is looking to impose a global 10% tariff as an alternative.
Source: Hawaii News Now