The Daily Fuckup

By May 18, 2025, the fight over President Donald Trump’s tariffs was already in court, but it was not decided yet. The cases challenging the administration’s use of emergency powers were still pending before the U.S. Court of International Trade, and the court had not issued a merits ruling as of that date.

The timeline matters. In the consolidated tariff challenge later decided as V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. United States and Oregon v. United States, the first complaint was filed on April 14, 2025, and the second on April 23, 2025. Briefing continued through mid-May, including government filings on May 16. The court then held oral argument on May 21 before issuing its opinion on May 28. ([cit.uscourts.gov](https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/25-66.pdf))

Those cases challenged the President’s “Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariffs” and related “Trafficking Tariffs,” with plaintiffs arguing that the administration had exceeded its authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Court of International Trade later said the plaintiffs were entitled to summary judgment. That ruling did not exist on May 18; it came ten days later. ([cit.uscourts.gov](https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/25-66.pdf))

What was true on May 18 was narrower: the tariff program was already being attacked in court, the briefing record was building, and the legal outcome was still open. The policy’s broader economic effects may have been real, but the primary court materials do not themselves establish market-wide damage. The facts in the record were about litigation posture, not a finished judgment or a proven economic verdict. ([cit.uscourts.gov](https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/25-66.pdf))