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The US Court of International Trade has deemed Donald Trump’s tariff changes “illegal”, which could see the president’s controversial global trade policy get blocked.
According to the New York-based trade court, an emergency law initiated by the White House did not grant the president the sole power to levy tariffs on almost all countries.
The ruling, which comes from a three-judge panel at the trade court, follows a chain of lawsuits that argued Trump had exceeded his authority and left the country’s trade policy dependent on his whims as president.
By claiming national emergency due to trade deficits, president Trump bypassed the usual congressional approval to impose extensive tariffs on numerous countries last month, an action that destabilised markets.
The judges clarified that their decision did not assess the merit or potential success of the president’s tariffs as a negotiating tool. Instead, the ruling focused solely on the legality of their implementation.
In light of this, the court determined that the tariffs were “impermissible” not due to their potential ineffectiveness or lack of wisdom, but because existing federal law did not authorise their application.
The recent court decision nullifies all tariff orders enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a statute designed for “unusual and extraordinary” threats in national emergencies.
As a result, the judges have mandated that Trump issue revised orders within a 10-day timeframe to align with the standing permanent injunction.
However, the Trump administration has appealed the recent court ruling, with White House officials, including spokesperson Kush Desai, criticising the court’s authority. Desai stated to Reuters that “unelected judges” should not determine the appropriate response to a national emergency.
If upheld, this ruling significantly undermines Trump’s strategy of employing substantial tariffs to pressure trade partners for concessions, incentivise the return of manufacturing jobs to the US, and reduce the $1.2tn (£0.89bn) US goods trade deficit – all central pledges of his campaign.
