Madison Aument: On Friday, the Supreme Court struck down a majority of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The court ruled that the president’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to enact the tariffs was not permitted under the law.
Last April, Trump announced the sweeping series of reciprocal tariffs on a day he dubbed “Liberation Day.” The Supreme Court’s ruling does not upend all of the president’s tariffs, though. Just the ones he enacted under IEEPA.
Here in the Inland Empire, Trump’s tariffs have had several economic implications. Paul Granillo, who’s the president of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership, says 42% of all imports come through the ports of Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles, and a lot of those goods make their way to the Inland Empire to be shipped around the country by logistics companies.
Granillo says tariffs have had wide-ranging impacts on businesses in the region.
Paul Granillo: At the end of the day, it is the manufacturer who pays the tariff, and then the manufacturer passes that on to the consumer.
He says he wasn’t surprised by the court’s ruling but thought it might have come sooner.
Paul Granillo: So anybody that you know has been following this issue knew that the Supreme Court, when they had oral arguments, that the majority of the justices had serious questions about the use of what is called IEEPA, which is an emergency power.
Some of President Trump’s other tariffs will still remain, but Granillo says this ruling might help the economy stabilize a bit.
Paul Granillo: And that way we can build, build a stronger economy.
House Democrat Pete Aguilar celebrated the decision. He said in a statement Americans, quote, “have been struggling to get by under the weight of these added taxes, and now they will finally see some relief.”
In other local economics headlines, Riverside County’s district attorney announced that Credit One Bank would be forced to pay $10.2 million to settle a civil lawsuit. The suit was brought forward by a group of California DAs and alleged the credit union made debt-collection phone calls to California residents with excessive frequency. The judgment was signed and entered by a Riverside County judge.
The Riverside DA also secured a settlement of some $4.3 million from Event Solar. That suit alleged the company misrepresented projected savings costs. Three million dollars of the settlement will establish a fund to compensate eligible Californians who entered purchase agreements with Vivint between 2016 and 2020.
And finally, businesses in Big Bear Lake are banking on recent snowfall to help business after a bad start to the winter season. The National Weather Service said since last week, at least three feet of snow have fallen on Big Bear, with some places getting even more.
Mario Magliozzi manages Goldsmith’s Sports, a ski rental shop in Big Bear. He said after months of the shop being dead, business is already picking up.
Mario Magliozzi: We’re snow farmers, and we just had a big bumper crop, and looking forward to how this can help us through the rest of the season.
Madison Aument: Thanks for joining us this week for Economics IE. We’ll be back here next Monday with a new episode. You can find this segment and others at our website, kvcrnews.org/econie. The segment is supported by the Novak family. For KVCR News, I’m Madison Aument.