The tariff war is increasingly becoming an all out trade war –– with many nations including our closest allies. Reliance now on Section 338 is outrageous. It’s never been relied upon over the almost last 100 years (since 1930 and its inception).

Trump’s threats are no longer bearing much fruit. Just look at the Iranians and the Canadians.

Trump’s tariffs have simply not increased U.S. manufacturing. This is clear from the data. They have only increased the wealth-wage divide in the U.S.

They have also endangered U.S. foreign policy and drove away our closest allies. emboldened our adversaries and endangered our national security.

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“The age of capitulation that defined Trump’s return to office may be starting to fade. World leaders and domestic institutions are, in some cases at least, showing less willingness to submit to Trump’s will ….  Universities and law firms are rebuffing his directives rather than signing on the bottom line …. The clash with Canada brings a lot of that history to the fore. Both sides have continued to escalate in recent days.” ““Deference to Trump Turns Increasingly to Defiance.” New York Times (August 27, 2026).

“The president has invoked a long dormant section of law to hit one of America’s closest allies, a move that has troubled courts in the past …. To impose punishing tariffs around the world, President Trump has repeatedly turned to a series of decades-old, never-before-used trade powers, only to be slapped down by federal courts for overstepping the law ….  His new trade war against Canada — risking yet another round of costly legal wrangling for the White House …. Before this weekend, no president appears to have issued tariffs under Section 338, so Trump’s actions quickly raised novel legal questions about a law that had otherwise sat dormant …. No one had brought a similar lawsuit challenging the president’s use of Section 338 against Canada …. Under the 1930 law, a president can impose tariffs in response to a country that has placed “unequal impositions or discriminations” on American goods but not on the rest of the world …. But the statute also goes one step further: If the tariffed country “maintained or increased its said discriminations” in response to the new duties, then the president may exclude some of those imported goods from the United States altogether ….  One of those laws is the Trade Act of 1974, which includes Section 301, a tool that the president may use to investigate unfair trade practices and impose tariffs in response. It is more settled legal ground, though Trump’s aggressive use of it this year — targeting dozens countries in bulk — has produced its own legal challenge pending before the courts …. The matter could land in the hands of the Court of International Trade, which has repeatedly taken issue with Trump’s expressions of tariff authority. To that end, another loss for the president could further restrain his powers to impose duties without Congress.” “Canadian Tariffs and Section 338.” New York Times (8.27.26).

“Just when you thought Donald Trump was thoroughly engaged with other misadventures like the Iran war, he decided to pick another tariff fight with a neighbour that has faced him down before. With inflation posing a risk to his already slumping popularity, Trump’s tariff follies are politically ever more ill-advised …. Far from weakening the target country’s resolve, a mindlessly aggressive campaign frequently unites it in opposition …. The other lesson Trump has failed to absorb is that tariff wars don’t actually do much damage, except to the US’s credibility …. Trump has now spent a year and a half throwing rocks into the rivers of world commerce, only to find trade flowing over and around them. He set out in his second term determined to stop China simply rerouting its exports to the US through third countries, as happened during his first. The howling anger of the White House’s recent screed against what it wrongly calls “transshipment” shows he knows he is failing.” “Trump’s Tariff Battle Plan  — Witless.” Financial Times (August 28, 2026).

“American manufacturing is resurgent despite the president’s protectionist measures, not because of them. Nor does the boom look much like the one he promised …. Uniquely strong demand conditions in two sectors have underpinned the expansion of industrial output, rather than a surge in tariff-related onshoring. The first is computer and electronic products, which includes the chips and servers feeding the ongoing AI frenzy. Next is aerospace, where aircraft backlogs …. There is another inconvenient data point for tariff backers. If tariffs were driving a broad reshoring boom, one would expect domestic production to displace imports. Instead, the manufacturing revival has dovetailed with a notable pick-up in purchases from abroad …. “The AI build-out, aircraft back-orders, tax deductions for capital expenditure in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and even the Iran war are driving the recent US manufacturing surge …. In other words, Trump’s tariffs are proving a blunt tool for reviving his nostalgic vision of manufacturing. America’s industrial strengths are proving resilient in spite of them — and would have been stronger still without them.” “US manufacturing is booming — but it’s no thanks to Trump’s tariffs.” Financial Times (Aug. 29, 2026).