NOTE: If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this See, Think, Wonder activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to learn more about?

SUMMARY

The Supreme Court struck down most of President Trump's tariffs in a blow to his agenda. In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that he did not have the authority under an economic emergency law to issue such levies. The president responded, saying he would impose a global 15% tariff under a different law. Geoff Bennett spoke with News Hour Supreme Court analyst and SCOTUSBlog co-founder Amy Howe.

View the transcript of the story.

News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

Key Terms

tariff — a tax on imported or exported goods

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

1. What was the Supreme Court's ruling on Trump's tariffs?
2. How did President Trump react to the ruling?
3. Who is Amy Howe, and what is her background?
4. What open question did the Supreme Court leave in their decision?
5. Why is it damaging for the president to attack the Supreme Court, according to Howe?

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• What do you think the impact of the Supreme Court ruling will be on the economy?
• What do you think the impact of the ruling will be on the separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the federal government?

Media literacy: What do you still want to know about the Trump administration's economic policies and why the Supreme Court decided Trump's tariffs were unconstitutional? How could you find out?

WHAT STUDENTS CAN DO

Watch the following segment featuring the small business owner whose lawsuit led to the Supreme Court decision. Then, as a class, discuss —

• How was Rick Woldenberg's business impacted by the tariffs?
• How will the Supreme Court decision affect his business going forward?
• After watching this segment, do you have a better sense of how tariffs might impact the economy in your own community? How do you think the Supreme Court decision (and Trump's response) might impact your own life?

NEWS: THEN & NOW

The News: Then & Now section of the Daily News Lessons allows students to see connections between current and past news events. The activity provides historical context using primary sources from the Library of Congress.

See PBS News Hour Classroom's Journalism in Action website for interactive examples of how journalists covered key events in U.S. history while honing your primary source, civics and digital news literacy skills.

THEN

While many students and teachers are aware of the major headlines regarding tariffs, most may not know the details about what they do and how tariffs have been a major political issue for over 200 years.

NOW

One of the overriding issues during the second presidency of Donald Trump has been international tariffs. Trump imposed these taxes on nations around the world for many reasons. In February, the court ruled that Trump did not have the authority under a 1977 economic emergency law to issue such sweeping tariffs.

"'Pure tariff chaos from the U.S. administration,' Bernd Lange, a top European Union lawmaker from Germany, wrote Sunday on X. 'No one can make sense of it anymore — only open questions and growing uncertainty.'" according to the NBC article, Trump's global tariff takes effect at 10%, despite announcement of 15%.

Discussion questions:

1. What is taking place in the political cartoon?
2. What do the members of the group know about tariffs?
3. How do the different images of Uncle Sam represent the contrasting views on tariffs?
4. Do you see tariffs as beneficial to the U.S. economy? Explain.

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