一、美國憲法開宗明義第一條(Article I, Section 8, Clause 1)就規定:明確規定: “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises…” 「國會有權課徵稅捐、關稅與消費稅。」
徵稅、調整關稅稅率屬於國會的專屬立法權(exclusive legislative power)。
總統或行政部門理論上只能在國會明確授權的範圍內執行調整。
因此,若總統僅依據行政命令或模糊授權(例如《國際緊急經濟權力法 IEEPA》)去改變稅率或對外貿易結構,就純粹法律字面意義來說,是直接構成「違憲」,是一種「對立法權的侵害」(unconstitutional delegation or usurpation of legislative power)。
雖然歷史上的確也存在國會授權行政權(即美國總統)部分關稅決定權,如《貿易擴展法》(Trade Expansion Act, §232)允許總統基於「國家安全」對進口商品徵稅;《貿易法》(Trade Act of 1974, §301)允許對外報復性關稅。
最直接明確的兩個判例:1892年的Field v. Clark — 國會通過《McKinley Tariff Act》,授權總統若發現他國對美國出口商品徵不公平關稅,可自行調高報復性關稅。最高法院判決:國會可授權總統在特定條件下執行立法意圖,不構成違憲。
1928年J.W. Hampton, Jr. & Co. v. United States 一案:《Tariff Act of 1922》,國會允許總統依據關稅委員會建議調整稅率不超過 50%。最高法院判決:國會可授權行政機關「在明確原則下」決定具體稅率(“Congress may not delegate its power to make a law, but it can make a law which delegates power to determine some fact or state of things…”)。
這很明顯違反聯邦最高法院1825年判例Wayman v. Southard 中訂下的「非授權原則」(non-delegation doctrine) — “Congress may not transfer to another branch powers which are strictly and exclusively legislative."
對川普政府最不利的判決先例就有1935年的Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan — 《國家工業復興法》(NIRA),該法授權總統限制石油輸出。但當時最高法院認為國會未提供明確原則,授權過於籠統模糊,違憲!這等於是畫下一條線,即便國會授權,總統也只能在明確文字的範疇內行事,不能擴張解釋。當國會授權文字不明確時,則甚至可能構成違憲授權,授權無效。
此原則在2022年的判決West Virginia v. EPA 又再被最高法院確認。
這兩個判決也應該會是打擊川普政府關稅的最強先例。
但川普也不是完全沒有說詞,其主要論點可能有二:
a. 外交/國家安全例外 — 聯邦最高法院長期認為外交是美國總統的特有保留權力,因此對外課徵關稅能不能被說成是這個權力的部分?或許有爭吵空間。
這邊題外話說一句,朗文字典對獨裁(dictator)的定義:”a ruler who has complete power over a country, especially one whose power has been gained byforce” 或 牛津字典的定義“a person who behaves as if they have complete power over other people, and tells them what to do”或美國專業法律辭典Black’s Law Dictionary對”dictatorship”的定義”A country that is ruled by one person who has complete power ”,在在顯示川普是個獨裁總統。
「…在川普的第一個任期內,庫克學會了通過給總統一個好的頭條新聞來贏得他的支持。2018年,蘋果承諾在五年內向美國投資3,500億美元——據知情人士透露,這主要是公司已經計劃的支出。庫克在今年8月再次使用了這個策略,他在橢圓形辦公室宣布將蘋果承諾的美國投資增加到四年內6,000億美元,並送給川普一塊金底座的牌匾。知情人士說,庫克幾乎沒有做出讓步,承諾主要是已經計劃的投資。川普隨後宣布蘋果將免於進口電子產品關稅,只需承擔較小的中國關稅,川普週四同意將其減半。… ("During Trump’s first term, Cook learned he can win over the president by giving him a good headline. In 2018, Apple promised to invest $350 billion in the U.S. over five years—primarily spending the company was already planning to make, say people familiar with the calculations." …."So Cook deployed the strategy again. In August, Cook said he was increasing Apple’s promised U.S. investments to $600 billion over four years. He made the announcement next to Trump in the Oval Office, as he gave him a plaque with a base of gold. Again, Cook gave up little, making promises primarily on already planned investment, said the people familiar with the figures."…."After the U.S. investment pledge, Trump announced Apple would be exempt from a tariff on imported electronics, leaving the company subject to only a smaller China tariff, which Trump agreed to cut in half on Thursday.")」
「…但現任和前任員工表示,蘋果的供應鏈永遠不會以任何實質性的方式回到美國("But Apple’s supply chain is never coming back to the U.S., not in any substantial way, current and former employees say.)」
結合本篇報導闡述Apple Tim Cook怎麼忽悠川普(其實我認為川普就算知道也樂於被如此忽悠,因為他要的是選舉,而不是真的要解決問題)。我們可以發現歐式或美式民主制度下,政客的訴求從來不是真實解決問題;此外,政客樂於人為創造問題、創造困難。因此這也會是我們分析中美競爭大框架下,非常重要的一個認知儲備。
「美國戰略家們設想,通過關稅壓縮中國的出口,鼓勵中國尋找新的國內增長點,或許通過改革其醫療和社會福利體系,讓消費者多消費、少儲蓄。通過施壓北京增加消費,中國將開始從美國和其他國家購買更多商品,其貿易順差將縮小,美國企業和農民也能夠開拓一個無與倫比的消費者市場。(U.S. strategists imagined that tariffs would squeeze exports and encourage China to find new sources of growth at home, perhaps by overhauling its health and social welfare systems to allow consumers to spend more and save less. By pressuring Beijing to boost consumption, the idea went, China would start buying more goods from the U.S. and the rest of the world, its trade surplus would shrink and U.S. businesses and farmers could tap a consumer market of unparalleled potential.)」
Hello everyone, this is Yuanyu on Traditional Chinese Medicine. I am a fifth-generation TCM doctor, trained in a family tradition, and a graduate of Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine University.
Today, I’d like to start with an article I wrote in 2021 on Heart Yin Deficiency and add some details that weren’t clearly explained at the time—particularly on pulse diagnosis and TCM theory. Let’s begin.