Russ Taylor

A federal court dealt another blow to the Trump administration’s tariff agenda, ruling that the 10% global tariffs the president imposed earlier this year are illegal. …Kenneth Katkin, law professor at Northern Kentucky University, said the statutes that authorize tariffs simply do not authorize global tariffs. An appeal is expected. …This development is just one thread in a much larger story that continues to weigh on the housing market. Russ Taylor said the lumber market is getting hit from multiple directions at once, and no single factor is solely to blame. …”With the Iranian war, constricted trade flows, high oil prices, inflation, everyone’s being more conservative,” he said. “That keeps prices at bay.” …A lumber inclusion in the USMCA would ease some of the cost pressure but Taylor pointed out that the US domestic industry has done very well under the current tariff structure and has every reason to resist a deal that changes it.