Tariff policy starts to drift
- Reporters say the White House's tariffs-first approach toward China is losing momentum after recent legal setbacks. - Analysts point to the Supreme Court rulings and the new refund system as signs the administration's tariff strategy is changing. - The Reuters take frames this as policy drift rather than a new strategy, affecting US-China economic leverage negotiations (reuters.com).
The White House’s tariffs-first push on China is losing force after court rulings knocked out key duties and the government opened a refund system for importers. (usnews.com, cbsnews.com) President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025 promising tariffs would reset ties with Beijing. He initially pushed duties on Chinese goods to about 145%, and China answered with tariff hikes of its own. (usnews.com, wkzo.com) That pressure campaign ran into a major legal barrier on February 20, 2026, when the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not let the president impose broad tariffs on his own. The decision invalidated tariffs that relied only on that emergency law, including some measures aimed at China. (budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu, thomsonreuters.com) The administration’s next move was not a new tariff package but a claims process. U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened its CAPE refund portal on April 20 so businesses can seek repayment for duties the Court said were unlawful. (cbsnews.com, nbcnews.com) The scale is large: the government could owe importers up to $166 billion to $175 billion, depending on which claims qualify. As of April 9, more than 56,000 importers had registered for refunds, and Customs said about 82% of IEEPA duty payments were eligible in the portal’s first rollout. (cbsnews.com, msn.com) That leaves Washington in an awkward spot before Trump’s planned May 14-15 trip to China, his first visit there as president in eight years. Reuters reported that officials have also sent mixed signals in recent months, including reversing a military blacklist decision and allowing some artificial intelligence chip sales after warning that Chinese access posed a security risk. (straitstimes.com, usnews.com) Analysts say the court ruling did not erase U.S. trade leverage, but it did slow the fastest route to new tariffs. Council on Foreign Relations fellow Zongyuan Zoe Liu wrote that the decision shifts trade pressure away from emergency presidential action and toward slower tools such as Section 301 and Section 232. (cfr.org, thomsonreuters.com) Business groups and trade lawyers say the refund portal helps, but it also pushes the work onto importers. CBS reported that payouts are not automatic, the system initially covers only unliquidated entries and some recent finalized ones, and companies may still need court action to recover all they paid. (cbsnews.com, thomsonreuters.com) The White House rejects the idea that its China policy is drifting. Spokesperson Kush Desai told Reuters Trump’s trade agenda had “flipped the script” and put the United States in a stronger position with Beijing, even as the legal and administrative fight over tariffs keeps moving from the border to the courts and refund forms. (economictimes.indiatimes.com, usnews.com)
