US court blocks Trump’s tariffs
The US Court of International Trade has ruled that president Donald Trump did not have the authority to impose his global tariffs.
The most recent tariff debacle began in November last year, when Trump threatened to impose a 25% tax on Mexican and Canadian products. He later expanded the taxes to the whole world, before imposing a 90-day pause for all countries bar China.
The latest development was Trump’s recommendation of a 50% tariff on imported goods from the European Union (EU) from 1 June.
However, yesterday (29 May), judges Gary S Katzmann, Timothy M Reif and Jane A Restani threw his plans into doubt.
To implement his tariffs, Trump called on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) for the authority to regulate commerce. The judges concluded: “The court does not read IEEPA to confer such unbounded authority and sets aside the challenged tariffs imposed thereunder.”
They added: “The president’s assertion of tariff-making authority in the instant case, unbounded as it is by any limitation in duration or scope, exceeds any tariff authority delegated to the president under IEEPA. The worldwide and retaliatory tariffs are thus ultra vires [acting beyond one’s legal power] and contrary to law.”
The order accompanying the ruling states that a permanent injunction should be brought forth within 10 calendar days.
The Trump administration immediately filed an appeal.
The president is yet to comment on the ruling, however White House spokesperson Kush Desai said: “Foreign countries’ nonreciprocal treatment of the United States has fuelled America’s historic and persistent trade deficits. These deficits have created a national emergency that has decimated American communities, left our workers behind, and weakened our defence industrial base – facts that the court did not dispute.
“It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency. President Trump pledged to put America first, and the administration is committed to using every lever of executive power to address this crisis and restore American greatness.”
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