Two years ago today, I had tickets to see my favorite band of all time: Depeche Mode.
Unfortunately, I was in the throes of my “nightmare” at the time — when I wasn’t sleeping, feeling anxious, and my stomach was a mess (and I didn’t know why).
At the 11th hour, I decided not to go. I was too tired and my stomach too upset for me to truly enjoy the show. Not going crushed me — one of the many things I missed, skipped, or couldn’t fully enjoy during that dark time.
Fast forward to this past Tuesday. My wife and I went to Boston for a delicious dinner and then we went to see the new Depeche Mode concert movie in IMAX. This was the concert I missed, except the footage was from the shows they performed in Mexico City, not Boston.
Seeing Depeche Mode on the giant screen, with the amazing surround sound, and my wife by my side, was “all I ever wanted, all I ever needed.”
“Memento Mori” is the name of Depeche Mode’s most recent album, the one that launched this concert tour. It means “remember that you must die” in Latin.
I remember, which is why I try to live with more purpose today.
Epilogue: My nightmare ended, ironically enough, three months after the concert when I received my cancer diagnosis. Talk about memento mori! Okay, the nightmare didn’t fully end then. I still had to undergo surgery and radioactive iodine treatment, but the uncertainty ended: I finally knew why my health had suddenly declined. Yes, this whole experience was a reminder that we are mortal — we will all die of something some day. But it was also a reminder that, until then, we must live.
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Moving on, here’s the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week:
- Trump cuts tariffs on China after meeting Xi in South Korea (AP News)
- South Korea Says U.S. Agreed to Lower Tariffs and to Ease Investment Terms (NYT)
- Senate passes resolution to end Trump’s global tariffs; 4 Republicans side with Dems (The Hill)
- Why UPS Is Increasingly Turning to Gig Drivers for Deliveries (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- UPS cuts 48,000 jobs in the year to date as its turnaround continues (AP News)
- Blue Yonder Transforms Warehouse Management With Artificial Intelligence and Unified Decisioning
- Magaya and Lune Partner to Deliver Integrated Emissions Intelligence Across Global Supply Chains
- Shippo launches Shippo Intelligence, helping merchants turn shipping data into smarter decisions
- Arkestro Announces ‘Arkestro Labs,’ Powerful New Procurement AI Offerings at Optimal ’25
- Nvidia Targets Factories as Next Step for Corporate AI (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- For the Third Year in a Row, the Economy is the Trucking Industry’s Top Concern
- 12 arrested in connection with yearslong California-wide cargo theft ring (KTLA)
November 5, 2025: The Beginning of a New Liberation Day?
Tariffs continued to dominate the news this week. After the meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier this week, the AP reported that “the U.S. would lower tariffs implemented earlier this year as punishment on China for its selling of chemicals used to make fentanyl from 20% to 10%. That brings the total combined tariff rate on China down from 57% to 47%.”
Also, as reported by the New York Times, “South Korea said it had reached an agreement on the details of a long-awaited trade deal with the United States during President Trump’s visit to the country, securing concessions on how much cash it would need to invest in the United States.”
As has been the case all year, this can all change by the time you read this.
The big news is what’s happening next week on November 5th. As Amy Howe reports in SCOTUSBlog: “On Nov. 5, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a pair of challenges to President Donald Trump’s power to impose sweeping tariffs on virtually all goods imported into the United States. The economic stakes are massive, but the cases are also an important test of presidential power more broadly.”
I encourage you to read the full post for all the background information on the tariff questions before the court, but here are a couple of excerpts:
The challengers contend that – unlike other laws that directly deal with tariffs – the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) doesn’t mention tariffs or duties at all, and that no president before Trump has ever relied on IEEPA to impose tariffs. And the government has not provided an example of any other law, they add, in which Congress used the phrase “regulate” or “regulate … importation” to give the executive branch the power to tax. Indeed, the group of small businesses led by V.O.S. Selections say, “[h]undreds of statutes grant the power to regulate, and none has ever been understood to grant taxing powers. … If ‘regulate’ meant ‘tax,’ it would overturn the accepted understanding of all these laws.”
The Trump administration counters that the tariffs fall squarely within the text of IEEPA. Congress’ grant of power to the president to “regulate importation,” U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argues, “plainly authorizes the President to impose tariffs” because tariffs “are a traditional and commonplace way to regulate imports.” The Federal Circuit was wrong, the Trump administration argues, when it concluded that “even if IEEPA authorizes tariffs, it does not authorize ‘unlimited’ tariffs” like the ones at the center of this case.
If you’re a global trade and legal junkie, this will be your Super Bowl. I wonder if they will show it on IMAX somewhere?
Anyway, November 5th could be the beginning of a new “Liberation Day” if the Supreme Court rules against the Trump administration. Or it could cement the administration’s tariff war that it unleashed on April 2, 2025 — the original “Liberation Day,” as dubbed by Trump.
How do you think the Supreme Court will rule? Place your bets now.
And with that, have a meaningful (purpose-filled) weekend!
Song of the Week: “But Not Tonight” by Depeche Mode
