Liberation Day One-Year Anniversary: Trade Deficit All-Time High, 89K Manufacturing Jobs Lost, SCOTUS Struck Down IEEPA Tariffs in Feb 2026

April 2, 2026 marks the one-year anniversary of Trump's 'Liberation Day' executive order (EO 14257), which announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs averaging 20–50% on most US trading partners and set off the largest trade confrontation since the 1930s Smoot-Hawley era. A year-end accounting by economists at the Peterson Institute, Tax Foundation, and CFR found: the US goods trade deficit hit an all-time high of $1.2 trillion in 2025 as importers front-ran tariffs; US manufacturing lost 89,000 jobs in the 10 months post-Liberation Day; tariff costs averaged $1,500 per US household annually; while tariff revenue reached ~$300B, the IRS projected $500B in lost tax revenue from reduced economic activity. The tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court in February 2026 (Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump), ruling that invoking IEEPA emergency powers for broad peacetime tariffs exceeded presidential authority — requiring the administration to restructure its tariff regime around Section 301 and Section 122 authorities. Democrats launched 2026 midterm campaign ads using the Liberation Day anniversary as a referendum on tariff-driven cost-of-living increases. Trump posted on Truth Social calling it 'the greatest trade stand in history, already producing results — we got deals we never could have gotten before.' The White House cited the USMCA renegotiation, expanded agricultural access from Japan and South Korea, and 17 bilateral trade framework agreements as vindication.