Georgia liberated from Trump tariffs, but still paying high price
There are few things that President Donald Trump loves more than gold-plated furnishings and seeing his name and face emblazoned on public property, except maybe tariffs. Unfortunately, his obsession is so unhealthy that it will give his therapist fits and is toxic to hardworking Georgians.
Trump’s unabashed romance with tariffs began long before his presidency, but they became a key part of his second term. On what he coined “Liberation Day,” he slapped massive tariffs—taxes on imports generally passed onto American consumers—on nearly every country, particularly U.S. allies. The tariffs were difficult to track since he revised them more than 50 times, but they soared to an average of over 21%.
To many spectators, this appeared blatantly unconstitutional. Trump is not an autocrat; he is a president bound by constitutional limits, and the power to levy tariffs wholesale lies with Congress. It is even spelled out in plain English in the Constitution: “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises [and] To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations.”
Trump disagreed with our founding document and attempted legal gymnastics to justify his unilaterally imposed tariffs. He even suggested that Americans could start receiving tariff dividend checks from the government and his tariffs might balance the federal budget—a claim that stands at odds with foundational mathematics.
This pseudo-arithmetic aside, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to consider Trump’s tariff arguments and ultimately scoffed at them. “By a vote of 6-3, the justices ruled that the tariffs exceed the powers given to the president by Congress under a 1977 law providing him the authority to regulate commerce during national emergencies created by foreign threats,” SCOTUS Blog reported.
The high court then ordered the Trump administration to refund the ill-gotten tariff funds, and it began doing so last month. “But only the entities [i.e., companies] that officially paid the tariffs are eligible to recover that money,” The New York Times noted. “That means that the fuller universe of people affected by Mr. Trump’s policies—including millions of Americans who paid higher prices for the products they bought—are not able to apply for direct relief.” So much for tariff dividend checks.
Was it worth it, Georgia? Absolutely not. While in effect, tariffs stifled trade, inhibited job growth and increased consumer prices. On average, this cost families about $1,700—money that they are not getting back. It is fair to assume that Georgia particularly felt the sharp sting of tariffs, since the Peach State is a trading hub and agricultural center, which was central to trade disputes.
“Georgia depends more on global trade than the average state. Imports equal 17% of Georgia’s GDP compared to 11% of U.S. GDP,” reports the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “Tariffs and nontariff barriers to trade will be a stronger economic headwind for Georgia than for the rest of the United States.” Meanwhile, agriculture adds over $90 billion to Georgia’s economy, although tariffs can significantly impact the sector.
According to the National Taxpayers Union, “Tariffs hit farmers and ranchers with a double-whammy of lower exports and higher input prices. Under Liberation Day tariffs, U.S. agricultural exports declined and the 2025 agricultural trade deficit increased by 10.8%.” What’s more, the tariffs increased, rather than eased, the country’s trade deficit and reduced manufacturing jobs, which was a predictable outcome to anyone with a cursory knowledge of economics.
While the court invalidated Trump’s so-called Liberation Day tariffs, some pain remains. “Residents and business owners [in Georgia] say the economic effects are still unfolding, often in ways that are subtle and cumulative,” says the Savannah Morning News. “That strain, some locally say, has not eased.”
It is hard to predict Trump’s next steps on tariffs, especially considering he exchanged a trade war for a real war with Iran, which is consuming his attention. Nevertheless, Trump’s dalliance with tariffs does not seem fleeting. They always seem to be on the tip of his tongue, and while a theoretical case can be made in support of targeted tariffs for national security purposes, Trump’s use far exceeds this. Rather than continuing his infatuation with these taxes, he should consider the pain they inflicted on all Americans.
“The evidence is in: tariffs failed even by the Trump Administration’s own terms,” the Taxpayers Union explained. “They did not shrink the trade deficit, did not revitalize manufacturing, and did not help farmers.” Georgians understand this, but does Trump?