Letter to the Editor: Tarrifs there are

Some may not know what a tariff is. I can’t think this is true of many. Tariffs are making the news everyday. Trump declares a tariff one day on some trading partner of the United States and the next day says he may wait awhile to negotiate.

There are duties and tariffs. Duties are what the importer pays and tariffs are what those here in the United States pay to purchase products from another country. As an example, Walmart which imports much of its inventory from China, imports an item at a cost of $1.00. A 30% tariff would raise the cost of that item from $1.00 to $1.30. Now Walmart is not going to eat that $.30; Walmart will pass that extra $.30 on to the customer.

The persons buying things from Walmart will now pay 30% more for the items they purchase. This is a significant increase in cost to the average household. Where did that $.30 go? It went to the government. The government now has an extra $.30 for every dollar of imports coming from that particular country. In the case of China that could be billions of additional money flowing into the treasury which is coming from us.

Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” gets the headlines. You and I will be getting a tax break here and there and this will make us feel good - - presumably. After all, we will pay fewer taxes and be able to use the extra cash for needed items. WRONG.

Tariffs are taxes. By increasing tariffs, the government is increasing our taxes and siphoning off billions of dollars. This tax will be paid by you and me, not Walmart. By imposing tariffs, Trump is imposing taxes and he is doing it by himself in a method that is most likely unconstitutional.

Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution says:

“The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.”

“To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.”

The president of the United States does not have the power to impose taxes. It is my understanding that Congress has given the executive branch some power in regard to tariffs in certain circumstances but I am uncertain of those. The matter is now being litigated in the courts.

But imposing taxes he is doing - - by himself and changing them almost daily making it almost impossible for a company like Walmart to implement any particular policy or take any particular action when their costs change daily. It is a real mess and probably not constitutional. And if it is not constitutional, it is not legal. If Congress doesn’t decide to act and regain some of the governmental power that the constitution says it has, we will be ruled by one person which is something that has never been contemplated in this country. We should not allow it now. When forming this country we rejected monarchy and have fought dictatorships most of our history. It does not work out well for the citizens when one person has no check on his authority.

Richard E. H. Phelps II

Mingo