Trump says he can charge foreign countries for licenses

Summary

Following a Supreme Court ruling that limited his administration’s ability to impose certain tariffs, President Trump asserted he has the authority to charge foreign entities fees for ‘licenses’ to operate or trade. This move is framed as a regulatory workaround to maintain economic leverage and revenue generation despite the judicial pushback on his trade policies.Wallstreetcn

Impact Analysis

Don’t let the headlines about the Supreme Court blocking tariffs fool you into thinking the trade war is over. Trump’s pivot to ‘license fees’ is a direct response to the Court ruling—he’s essentially admitting that if he can’t tax via tariffs (which requires Congress), he’ll extract rent via administrative permissions.

This is actually more dangerous for corporate P&Ls than standard tariffs. Tariffs are published and predictable; ‘license fees’ are discretionary, opaque, and transactional. It turns US market access into a pay-to-play scheme where the executive branch holds all the cards.

The market is currently pricing in a relief rally on the legal victory, assuming trade friction will drop. That’s a trap. We need to fade the optimism in heavy importers. The risk has just shifted from ‘taxation’ to ‘regulatory extortion.’ Expect margin compression in sectors that require specific operational permits—energy and tech hardware—as these ‘fees’ likely start appearing in Q2 guidance as ‘compliance costs.’