The Supreme Court ruling on tariffs today? Consumers see a partial relief

 Trump's got a plan B up his sleeve despite his loss in the Supreme Court today, declaring that Trump did not have the power to impose reciprocal tariffs. (Those are the tariffs, like the 15% on all imports from the EU). How Trump plans to get around the ruling is to abuse another law: Trump orders temporary 10% global tariff to replace duties struck down by US Supreme Court. (and upped it to 15% 2/21/2026, and that may also be challenged as illegal on the basis that there are conditions attached he my have violated) He could ask his loyal Congress to just rubber-stamp his tariffs, also.. "Tariffs are taxes," declared a 6-3 Supreme Court, and Congress has that power, not the president, to levy them.

What was carved out in the SCOTUS ruling were aluminum and steel, and those tariffs remain because they were connected to national security interests. What is absurd about those is that beverages and cosmetics, mostly in aluminum containers, will still get hit by high tariffs based on the percentage and value of aluminum or steel container part of the item (50% for those smelt and cast in the EU and 200% if it comes from designated countries like Russia)...and those costs will still just be passed on to the consumers. Automobiles and steel tariffs were not affected by the relief, either. They remain, it appears. SCOTUS did not rule if consumers get a refund of some sort for the illegally imposed tariffs. So, consumers consider the price increases caused by tariffs as your donation to the federal treasury, legal or not. Supreme Court strikes down most of Trump's tariffs in a major blow to the president

What did change today with the ending of Trump's reciprocal tariffs may be that import shipments valued at below $800 will be exempted from the Trump tariff requirements, that they all had to go through US customs. CNBC addressed the issue this morning, and further verification is needed.  This deminimus exemption caused such a mess in such giants as UPS, that these small package shipments that did not meet the requirements of US customs paperwork were simply destroyed, estimated by some to total worth in billions of dollars.Update: 2/32/2026: no, nothing changed. Deminimus is still verboten.

Full disclosure: Felicia Muftic is president of a small business importing cosmetics from the European Union, some of which come in aluminum containers and others in plastic containers. MelemUSA,LLC

So here is Trump's plan B, to put a 10% tariff on every import relieved from the 15% plus tariff by the Supreme Court decision today. He is clear he sees tariffs as a fundraiser for the treasury. What is clear to everyone else, he wants to raise money on the backs of all consumers. Tariffs are going to be paid by consumers. Per a study of 2025 by the Federal Reserve, 90% of tariffs were paid by consumers and businesses.

.Let me raise an issue that has not been connected to tariffs yet. To keep the national debt in check caused by his generous tax breaks to the very rich and his friends, the tariffs, paid by normal people, make up some of the loss to the treasury by Trump's tax breaks. The answer is to reverse the tax breaks and let those who are not on budgets pay their fair share. Tax Cuts Are Primarily Responsible for the Increasing Debt Ratio - Center for American Progress

Tariffs make things more expensive and contribute to the affordability gap and to the middle-class travails of not having enough income to cover living expenses like they once did..

Trump does not care a fig about affordability. He calls that a Democrat hoax. This should be a red flag, an indication of where his heart does not lie.

Update 2/21/2026:The impact on small businesses Trump’s tariffs get knocked out — but the hit to small business is just beginning described in this article, which is what we ourselves have experienced and the recommended solutions make sense. We have not gone out of business but that was almost a day by day discussion as we encountered chaos and inconsistencies throughout our supply chain. We have survived to continue. The kindest comment I can make is that the 10%-15% world wide tariff brings some stability to our planning and orders for product from Croatia for the next five months. What this world wide tariff will do, however, in result in continued higher prices for consumers, including for products previously exempted

Per Google AI description of our company, Melem USA LLC: Melem USA, LLC, based in Fraser, Colorado, is an authorized importer and distributor of Melem skin and lip balm, a popular Croatian pharmaceutical skincare brand. They sell directly through their website and Amazon, catering to consumers seeking relief from dry, irritated, or chapped skin caused by harsh climates. 

Key details about Melem USA, LLC and the product:

• Product Line: Focuses on the original hypoallergenic Melem balm, which is formulated with lanolin and beeswax for deep moisture.
• Business Operations: An accredited member of the Northern Colorado and Wyoming Better Business Bureau.
• Availability: Products are sold via melemorder.com and Amazon.com.
• Background: The product originates from Neva d.o.o. in Croatia, founded in 1918. 

• About Melem

  For people in harsh climates from the Rockies to the tropics, Melem means relief from dry, itchy, chapped, tough skin and lips. * ...

  

  Melem Store

  
• Contact Us - Melem Store

  Melem is an accredited business member of the Northern Colorado and Wyoming Better Business Bureaus.

  

  Melem Store
• MELEM USA LLC - 28 Co 

Marco Rubio comes close to endorsing a dictator

Rubio boosts Orbán's bid for another term during Budapest visit | PBS News

Viktor Orban has been described by many sources as a dictator and a neo fascist and has been held up as a darling by US right-wing conservatives (CPAC).

He also favors Putin's foreign policy, particularly as it pertains to Ukraine. Fellow European NATO members find him constantly out of step with their attempts to help Ukraine, and often have to use workarounds to carve out their support for Ukraine. That Rubio would be endorsing him says much about Trump's love of dictators, a role his words and deeds reveal he aspires to join them, as well. As a Cuban-American, one would think Rubio understands why dictatorships are bad. I do not get him other than he has hitched his political ambitions wagon to Trump..

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: The Orban playbook and if it would work here

In her 2018 book Fascism: A Warning, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright identified Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a leader exhibiting authoritarian, fascist-like tendencies. She categorized his actions—such as undermining the press, judiciary, and minorities—as part of a broader trend of anti-democratic behavior. (GOOGLE AI)

 

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: The Orban playbook and if it would work here

Moral indignation rises as a major imperative of anti-ICE protests

 America sours on Trump's immigration policies in new poll. The fallout to Milwaukee's resistance of ICE's overreaching invasion is spreading nationally and impacts Trump's approval rating.  The legalism approach as a basis for argumentation, like NO  Kings advocating on behalf of keeping and supporting our Constitutional democracy, has been joined by those with moral outrage that human beings, regardless of legal status or race, are treated this way. The fear that all immigrants are somehow criminals has been replaced by the word "neighbor," and its meaning in biblical terms is as defined by the words of Jesus.

 Yes, if polled, most Americans approve of deporting illegal migrant violent criminals, but that is not what is happening. In ICE's  dragnet approach, there are far more innocent victims of their violent techniques. Yes, No Kings still has great significance and protections in the amendments of the Constitution that need to be respected and upheld. Moral outrage is becoming even more significant as the stories emerge of the treatment, the denial of civil and human rights, the warehousing of thousands of children and adults, disappeared with no recourse, no sunlight, into a chain of concentration camps.  These are echoes of what we know and see as evil, the Japanese internment in WWII, or Russia throughout history, the gulag archipelago. Cruelty is not a humane value nor an American one. 

Note, too, while polls reflect attitudes of a wide cross-section of Americans, these protests are mostly by white participants. The demographic profile of protestors seen on TV is significant. The street demonstrations (big one scheduled in Chicago today led by the Catholic church on Ash Wednesday) are by, yes, mostly white people on behalf of brown and black people, risking to die for them, as two did, and still speak out against ICE trying to intimidate them as they photo and blow their whistles..New Filings Detail Harrowing Accounts of ICE and  In this current atmosphere, black and brown people keep a low public profile, especially brown people racially profiled by ICE and persecuted for just being brown, or without documents and with documents, so terror keeps them hidden.

 For those who still harbor racism in their souls, or white nationalism /or white supremacy, these polls must come as a shock, especially if they only listen to friends restricted to those they know who already agree with them, or only get their news and information from social media and TV media that cater to their preferred political beliefs and prejudices. 

How Trump plans to subvert the midterms: it is no secret

 From my Muftic Forum Facebook post 2/15/2026

Here is how Trump and Noem plot to subvert the midterms, even if the Senate votes down the House version.

Kristi Noem says she will ensure the 'right people' vote in midterms...

Trump says he'll issue an executive order on voter ID by midterms

They intend to simply issue executive orders that are clearly unconstitutional and tie up the results of the midterms, creating worse than chaos, in their defiance. It may be worth taking some legal action in advance, and certainly a lot of planning from those who can secure any court orders on the issue in a similar case before November. Trump will ultimately rely on "his" Supreme Court to give him the same rights the Constitution clearly denies the executive branch. Methods and actual elections are controlled separately from the federal government by each state acting individually. This would never be an issue, nor has it been for 250 years, until now, when we have a wannabe dictator trying to seize power for himself and to flaunt the will of voters by such subterfuge and to create legislation by executive order. This action he threatens is like others: "I don't care if the law says I can't; I'll do it anyway and I dare someone or court to stop me."

The only answer is for an up and down the ballot vote against MAGA control that is so overwhelming, that quibbling over "show me your papers" to prove citizenship to be a voter, is so obvious, the lower and Supreme courts act immediately, or impeachment gains momentum. I am out of ideas other than voters revolting in overwhelming numbers. Trump is out of control, obsessed with power, an egomaniac, worthy of comparison with similar types in civilization's history.

Yes, only citizens can vote, and the penalties of non-citizens voting are so severe already that few have tried, but Trump has created a myth without any proof or evidence that national security is threatened by illegals. To him I say: "Show me your papers of evidence. You have had 6 years to prove it since. 2020, and you have failed."

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Show me your papers. If you are an American citizen, what papers?

From google AI:

Voting as a non-citizen in a federal election is a crime with severe legal and immigration consequences. While non-citizens can vote in a handful of local elections (e.g., in parts of Maryland, Vermont, and D.C.), it is strictly prohibited for federal and state offices. 
The primary penalties include:
1. Criminal Penalties
• Imprisonment: Under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 611), illegal voting is generally a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison.
• Fines: Individuals may also face significant financial penalties alongside or instead of prison time.
• Perjury Charges: Since voter registration forms require an attestation of citizenship, non-citizens who register may be charged with perjury or making false statements, which can carry up to five years in prison. 
2. Immigration Consequences
For many non-citizens, the immigration penalties are far more severe than the criminal ones: 
• Deportation: Unlawful voting is a deportable offense. Once discovered, even legal permanent residents (green card holders) can be placed in removal proceedings and expelled from the U.S..
• Inadmissibility: A violation makes a person "inadmissible," meaning they are barred from re-entering the U.S. and ineligible for future visas.
• Denial of Naturalization: Voting or falsely claiming citizenship to register can permanently block a person's path to becoming a U.S. citizen due to a lack of "good moral character" required by law. 
3. Notable Exceptions
Federal law provides a narrow exception if the non-citizen: 
• Had two U.S. citizen parents (natural or adoptive).
• Permanently resided in the U.S. before age 16.
• Reasonably believed they were a U.S. citizen at the time of voting. 
• Non-citizen suffrage in the United States - Wikipedia

  Exempt from punishment is any noncitizen who, at the time of voting, had two natural or adoptive U.S. citizen parents, who began p...

  

  Wikipedia

  
• Three Facts to Know About Driver's Licenses for Immigrants ...

  Aug 8, 2024 — Featured Downloads * Illegally voting in a federal election can result in a fine and up to five years in prison. * A noncitizen fo...

  

  The National Immigration Law Center