Talking tariffs …
Last week, we asked for someone, anyone, who can make the case for the tariffs imposed by President Trump. We had a response from regular reader Michael Moats. He wrote:
As far as the tariffs go, the U.S. has had a trade deficit for a number of years. Previous administrations have left this go unchecked. Some countries have a 20% tariff on our goods going into their country while we only had 5% (as an example) on theirs coming in here. That makes no sense.
The other thing is this will motivate our businesses, as well as some others outside the U.S., to make their products here to be free from any tariffs. This creates jobs and boosts our economy in a number of ways. I know these tariffs can be painful at first, but should pay off in the long run.
KBA plans diversity CLE, reception
The Knoxville Bar Association is planning a CLE and reception for Tuesday, September 16, at the Beck Cultural Exchange Center. “From the Margins to the Mainstream” will salute diversity in the legal field. The event is free to attend for KBA law student members.
Speakers include Hon. Sharon G. Lee, former TN Supreme Court justice; Hon. Hector I. Sanchez, judge of Criminal Court Division II; Ursula Bailey, law office of Ursula Bailey; Wesley O. Eke, Eke Law Firm; Joshua D. Hedrick, Knox Defense; John. T. Winemiller, Merchant & Gould P.C.; and Elle N. Shipley, Lewis Thomason P.C. Maha M. Ayesh, LMU Duncan School of Law, will moderate.
The continuing education segment will run from 4:30-5:30 p.m. with the reception to follow. The Beck Center is located at 1927 Dandridge Ave.
Local company pays $1.4M FOLLOWING IMPROPER RECEIPT OF PPP LOAN
A Knoxville-based company has paid $1,400,027.39 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by applying for, receiving and obtaining forgiveness of a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) for which it was not eligible.
Hoffmann Quality Tools USA Inc., 202 N Seven Oaks Dr, Knoxville, Tennessee, is a subsidiary of the Munich (Germany)-based Hoffmann Group, a global supplier of industrial tools which has over 4,000 employees across more than 50 companies.
U.S. officials have prosecuted 13 cases involving misconduct related to PPP funds. Summaries can be found here. Nobody will talk, of course, about cases currently under investigation. Although there are some.
U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III said, “The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) stood as vital resource for small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our office will continue to work with SBA and other federal partners to recover from those who take advantage of vital resources at the expense of the public.”
Bar Fight in Bearden Ends in Conviction
DA Charme Allen said prosecutors in the Criminal Court Unit obtained a conviction against a 50-year-old man who stabbed three victims at a bar in Bearden on New Year’s Day 2024. Judge Emily Abbott set the case for sentencing on October 24. Because of his criminal history, the man is facing 6-10 years on each of two aggravated assault counts. Details here.
Notes & Quotes
Knoxville Bar Association and Legal Aid of East Tennessee are offering an in-person, free legal advice clinic for veterans on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty Street. The next clinic will be on December 10. For those unable to attend, a telephone consultation can be scheduled. Info here.
Heather Cox Richardson notes six cases in which federal grand juries have declined to indict individuals who were arrested while protesting the deployment of troops in Washington, D.C. One was Nathalie Rose Jones, accused of making threats against President Trump. Another was Sean Dunn, the former Justice Department paralegal who threw a submarine sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection officer. The government charged Dunn with felony assault, for which he would have faced up to eight years in prison if convicted.
The United States is primarily a country that has a higher standard of living than most other countries. This will lead to a higher imports of products than exports. Our country has mostly moved past a simple manufacturing economy. Our jobs need to be of a higher quality. Our companies need to be producing items that the manufacturing process isn’t simple or cheap to duplicate. Our economy needs to be based on making energy, building new products, services, inventions, research and etc. cheap product manufacturing can not survive in the US. To do this we also have to break our dependence on countries that have products that are cheap and we depend on ie generic pharmaceuticals. We do this by building strong trading partners that are in direct conflict with each other. This would prevent us from being locked out of cheap products. All the tariff money(paid for by US citizens) brought in is going to have to be given to the farmers to keep them afloat. Weird thing is we as a country can give money to farmers and small businesses but we can’t support our kids going to college. They should at least get 0% interest loans.
My point about Trump’s tariffs is that Congress has never approved them, someone needs to read the United States Constitution to Trump–it doesn’t allow Trump to impose taxes on his own.
Tariffs: With reference to Mr. Moats defense of tariffs, he correctly pointed to “previous administrations” and although he did not, his party leaders usually make that mean the Biden administration. In the last forty-five years, Republicans have been in charge twenty-five years; Democrats twenty. I would accept the reference if writers would just say “we have let it happen.” Long run? Contrary to claims, consumers are and will be paying the cost of tariffs. Importers/purchasers pay the tariff, not the seller. That cost will be passed to us…now and forever. In fairness, most importers could not bear that cost and stay in business. As usual, this cost will fall harder on those less able to afford it, as a larger percent of income is spent on consumables. Tax breaks favor the wealthier and tariffs hurt them least. Finally, Americans by and large will not be able to afford many products made in American factories, paying good wages and making a decent profit. Desire for cheaper goods by consumers and improved profits by sellers is what invited imports in the first place. For better or worse, “we” created the issue, and our elected leaders watched it happen. I rather doubt the current electorate really voted for higher prices coupled with alienated international friends and disdainful international enemies as part of the deal.
Virgil, I meant all previous administrations, not just Biden. The trade deficit has been a problem for many, many years. No one has had the guts to fix it.