The Supreme Court just ruled 6–3 that the president does not have unilateral authority to impose sweeping tariffs under the law the administration was using. Most of the recent tariffs were struck down.

So what does that actually mean?

Today I break down:

What a tariff really is

Who actually pays for tariffs (hint: not foreign governments)

Whether trade deficits are actually “bad”

Why this ruling could have major midterm consequences

Tariffs function as a tax on imported goods — and that cost is often passed directly to American consumers. In the middle of an affordability crisis, that matters.

The Court may have handed the administration a political off-ramp. Instead, we’re seeing a doubling down — and now Congress may have to go on record.

Just a guy in a truck trying to make sense of trade policy, the Supreme Court, and who ultimately pays the bill