Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been putting the squeeze on companies and trading partners in an unusual effort to raise revenue and expand the president’s role over the economy.
As the commerce secretary and a top official in charge of President Trump’s trade negotiations, Howard Lutnick has an array of powerful economic levers to deploy.
President Trump has maintained that any erosion in his ability to impose levies using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act will inflict damage on the United States by robbing it of both revenue and leverage.
The decision is a big blow to President Trump’s trade policies, but the judges left the duties in place for now to allow time for a likely appeal to the Supreme Court.
The president’s steep tariffs and erratic moves have turned manufacturing abroad into a minefield, even for entrepreneurs who set up in countries viewed as safe alternatives to China.
Shoes designed by Ruthie Davis retail for $500 to $1,000, but she said costs, including shipping, marketing and tariffs, made it hard for her to turn a profit.
President Trump’s pledge to pursue investments in major companies underscored a tectonic and potentially risky shift in the relationship between government and private enterprise.
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