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What Is the Obscure Trade Court That Blocked Trump's Tariffs?
What Is the Obscure Trade Court That Blocked Trump's Tariffs?

Wall Street Journal

time15 hours ago

  • Business
  • Wall Street Journal

What Is the Obscure Trade Court That Blocked Trump's Tariffs?

The Court of International Trade is a New York-based federal court. It has nationwide jurisdiction over tariff and trade disputes. Currently it has 14 judges, appointed by six presidents. A single judge typically presides over a case, but a three-judge panel hears cases that raise constitutional questions or have significant implications—like the Trump tariff case. Congress created the court in 1980 as a successor to the U.S. Customs Court. The customs court had operated for decades in Manhattan—a legacy of when New York City was the busiest harbor for U.S. imports. The current court has largely operated in obscurity. 'Most lawyers will get out of law school without knowing that it exists,' says one specialist attorney. Go deeper:

Legal showdown looms over Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs
Legal showdown looms over Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs

ABC News

timea day ago

  • Business
  • ABC News

Legal showdown looms over Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs

A US appeals court has paused Thursday's trade court decision that found many of the Trump administration's tariffs were illegal. The Court of International Trade ruled that US President Donald Trump had overstepped his authority when he imposed the "Liberation Day" tariffs in April. But the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has put an immediate pause on that decision. It paves the way for a legal showdown between the Trump administration and the US legal system. "The [US] Constitution gives the power over tariffs to Congress, not the White House," professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan Justin Wolfers told the ABC. "Now, over the years, Congress has given some of that power, or handed it off, to the White House, but only in a very limited and constrained way. "So a simple reading of the rules would say the president can't do this. "So in order to have across-the-board tariffs, or what he calls reciprocal tariffs, on every country in the world, he's had to call it a national emergency and invoke the Emergency Powers Act. "First of all, that act has nothing about tariffs. And secondly, there's no emergency," Professor Wolfers said. The US has trade deficits with many countries, and has had so for 50 years. Professor Wolfers says financial markets and academics had assumed for some time now the tariffs would get knocked down in the courts. This week they did, with a three-judge panel: an Obama-appointed judge, a Reagan-appointed judge and a Trump-appointed judge. A US District Court judge, in a separate case this week, issued an injunction that also said the Trump's tariffs were not constitutional. "So that all seemed pretty clear until we hit this afternoon when the US federal government filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals," Professor Wolfers said. The Court of Appeals agreed to hear the case. Until the case is heard, the tariffs will stay as they are. "So within a couple of weeks, they're going come back with their decision," Professor Wolfers said. "If, as I expect, they find this to be unconstitutional, then the tariffs will be back off again. "Then we'll be off to the Supreme Court. "We'll see the same drama play out one more time. "Ultimately, my guess is the White House lawyers are just going to find other ways of creating International trade havoc." Some key questions then remain. How far is Mr Trump prepared to go in implementing the tariffs, and why have financial markets largely stopped swinging wildly in response to tariff news out of the White House? "I'm an economist and what I can see is a consistent pattern of behaviour, which is the president genuinely believes that tariffs are a good idea," Professor Wolfers said. "His lawyers will be telling him, as of this afternoon, Mr President, the statutory authority you're using will come under question, but if you want to push ahead with tariffs, I've got lots of other ways you can do it. "My guess, based on recent history, is that he'll say, 'That's terrific, let's keep going.'" The financial markets have become incredibly volatile. In early April, when he announced the so-called Liberation Day tariffs, share markets plunged. When Mr Trump paused the tariffs, stocks soared. The response to these latest developments has been noticeably muted. "Now there are two interpretations of that," Professor Wolfers said. "One is that markets believe that tariffs are so fundamentally important to the profitability of American businesses, they have no choice but to rise and fall dramatically every time something happens. "If that were true, then you would have thought that the Supreme Court making it unconstitutional should have caused markets to absolutely soar today, and they barely rose a little. "The other possibility is that the original policy announcement was so incoherent, so poorly thought through, so dramatic, so unconstitutional on its face, so absurd, with so much overreach in both the economic, political, and legal domains, that it signalled an administration that's out of control. "And [one] they could do a lot of damage. "And so maybe that's what they [financial markets] were learning in early April. "They reacted a little bit to tariffs and a huge amount of learning that this is a an economically unhelpful administration. "And if that's the case, then all that we learnt today when the courts say, 'Trump wasn't allowed to do tariffs in a particular way,' you're only going to see a small reaction. Investment bank Barrenjoey's chief interest rate strategist Andrew Lilley says global leaders, policy makers and financial markets are waking up to the idea that Mr Trump's decisions are more bold, unpredictable and chaotic in his second term. "People doubted that Trump would have the stomach to take any action that would cause the stock market to decline by 10 per cent or more," Mr Lilley said. "Everybody always said Trump, at the end of the day, he wants to change things, he wants to build a legacy of being more than just a tinkerer. "At the end of the day he is a populist, and a populist doesn't want to take any action that causes the stock market to fall by more than 10 per cent. "So the fact that [he implemented the tariffs], knowing for sure, surely he knew, that it would evoke a stock market reaction. "And when after 24 hours he hadn't recanted and he hadn't softened. "In fact, he stepped up the tariffs. "This caused us to reshape our view of 'what is the stomach that Trump has?' "And now we realise actually this is a very different version of Trump from Trump that we saw from 2016 through 2020." The US Appeals Court has ordered the plaintiffs in the trade court case — a group of small businesses — to respond by June 5, and it ha given the US government until June 9 to reply.

On-again, off-again Trump tariffs reinstated
On-again, off-again Trump tariffs reinstated

ABC News

timea day ago

  • Business
  • ABC News

On-again, off-again Trump tariffs reinstated

Woman: ABC Listen, podcasts, radio, news, music and more. Andy Park: Good morning. Welcome to AM. It's Friday the 30th of May. I'm Andy Park coming to you from Gadigal Land in Sydney. A US appeals court has paused yesterday's trade court decision that found many of the Trump administration's tariffs were illegal. Yesterday, the Court of International Trade ruled that President Donald Trump had overstepped his authority when he imposed the Liberation Day tariffs back in April. North America correspondent Lauren Day is in Washington, DC. Lauren, where do Donald Trump's tariffs stand now? Lauren Day: Well, it's a good question, Andy. The Trump administration had immediately filed an emergency motion trying to have this overruled. They told the court that suddenly halting these tariffs would harm national security and it looks like an appeals court has agreed with them. They've reinstated the tariffs for now and given both parties extra time to respond. In the meantime, the tariffs will be reinstated. The issue in this case, of course, was that they'd used this emergency law to implement this, which they said was warranted both to stop the flow of fentanyl and to address trade deficits with much of the world. Now, that logic was somewhat undermined by the fact that they also imposed the tariffs on countries like Australia, which have trade surpluses. And the judge yesterday found that the president had overstepped his authority here. But clearly, the appeals court has sided with the Trump administration in this case for now. The legal fight will obviously continue and it could still end up in the Supreme Court. Earlier today, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, urged the court to intervene and to put an end to this for the sake of our Constitution and our country, she said. She also hit out at the justices in this case, which has obviously been a theme throughout the Trump presidency. Here's a little of what she said earlier. Karoline Leavitt: The courts should have no role here. There is a troubling and dangerous trend of unelected judges inserting themselves into the presidential decision making process. America cannot function if President Trump or any other president for that matter has their sensitive diplomatic or trade negotiations railroaded by activist judges. Andy Park: That's White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt there. And so, Lauren, where does this leave Australia and other nations for that matter caught up in this trade war? Lauren Day: We haven't had fresh reaction from the major players, and they're no doubt scrambling to figure that out themselves. But this limbo will no doubt continue. And it's clear this is going to still have a big impact on these trade negotiations if it does remove what was a big bargaining chip for the United States, those high, sky-high tariffs that they were threatening. Now, Don Farrell, the trade minister, told the ABC earlier that they would study the ruling yesterday, that it may be subject to further legal processes through the courts, perhaps foreshadowing what we've just seen with the Court of Appeal. Before the appeals court decision, the White House confirmed that it was also considering other legal avenues to impose these tariffs if the ruling had held. And I spoke to economist Justin Wolfers, who said there were plenty of other avenues that they could explore, other options for them to impose these tariffs, because, of course, the industry-specific tariffs on steel, aluminium and cars remain in place. So it was possible, for example, they could use that mechanism for these broader tariffs. Either way, Justin Wolfers says he doesn't expect that Donald Trump will give up without a fight. Here's what he told me earlier. Justin Wolfers: The president's commitment to tariffs is absolutely real. It's a failure to understand Economics 101. It's a mistake that he started making at the age of 19. And the thing about 80-year-olds is they don't often reverse course when someone opens a new page in an economics textbook and explains it to them. Andy Park: Justin Wolfers there, the economics professor with the University of Michigan. Before him, our North America correspondent, Lauren Day. People in northern Gaza say they won't leave despite not receiving any food for weeks and in the face of intensifying Israeli attacks. A new aid organisation approved by the Israeli government has started delivering food to desperate people in southern and central Gaza. But those in the north say they're going without. Middle East correspondent Eric Tlozek reports. Eric Tlozek: Palestinians fill the road into Gaza City, carrying mattresses, blankets and gas bottles. They're fleeing Israeli bombing of their homes. Eric Tlozek: We were in hell and we just entered paradise, this man says. Thanks to the people of Gaza City who welcomed us, these people have come looking for shelter and a semblance of safety. But one thing they won't find is food. Aid groups say none of the food recently allowed into Gaza by the Israeli military is reaching the north because of Israel's expanded offensive, the desperate looting of aid trucks and warehouses and restrictions imposed on humanitarian agencies by the Israeli military. Gaza City residents like Noman Abu Jarad say they're starving. Noman Abu Jarad: To tell you the truth, all the people of Gaza are suffering from real starvation. We're not almost in starvation. No, we are in the middle of a real starvation crisis. There are none of the basic needs for life like drinking water, food, you can hardly find bread, even a bowl of soup is hard to get. People are really starving. Eric Tlozek: The only food people in Gaza City are getting is from a handful of charity kitchens which dole out bowls of noodles or lentils. But they're working with extremely limited supplies. Israel wants a new aid organisation with unknown funding and experience to replace the extensive distribution system in Gaza that was managed by the United Nations. That group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has opened three aid delivery sites to distribute basic food parcels, including a new site in central Gaza. Umm Mohammed Eissa was one of the people who rushed there to get food, but she left disappointed. Umm Mohammed Eissa: They said there is aid here, so we came running. I can't even walk and when I came they told me there's nothing left. Some people have carts carrying boxes and I cannot get one kilogram of flour or a bottle of oil. This is not right. I feel frustrated. What is this? This is chaos. Eric Tlozek: None of the aid distribution sites are in northern Gaza, although the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it will open some there in the future. Humanitarian agencies suspect the Israeli government wants to force people in the north to move south. But northerners like Arafat Sukkar say they won't go, even if they starve. Arafat Sukkar: The idea of moving to the south just for food is out of the question. We refuse totally the fact that we need to move to eat. Since the beginning of the war, if the people from the north wanted to move to the south, they would have done it. We defy such policies. They want to starve us and we refuse. Eric Tlozek: The Israeli government has reportedly accepted a new ceasefire proposal put forward by the United States. Hamas says it's studying the deal, but early indications are that the offer doesn't meet any of the conditions the group wants, specifically an end to the war and Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. Andy Park: Eric Tlozek there. Amid the ongoing Healthscope saga, patients are perplexed about what it means for them. Now in another challenge for the health sector, a private psychiatric hospital in Brisbane has announced its closure. The Australian Medical Association says private health insurance customers are now reconsidering their investment. Elizabeth Cramsie reports. Elizabeth Cramsie: Jess McClusky is pregnant with her second child, but this time around she won't be able to give birth in the hospital of her choice. Jess McClusky: People that have laboured in hallways and those kinds of things, so that's one of the major concerns I think for me, having to go to the public hospital, where I know that at the private, that doesn't happen. Elizabeth Cramsie: Healthscope, which operates Darwin's only private hospital, has gone into receivership, and from next week there will be no private maternity services in Darwin. For patients like Jess, who pay for private health insurance, the move is making them reconsider. Jess McClusky: If you're paying for the insurance and you can't get anything for it, what's the point? What's the point in having it? Elizabeth Cramsie: But the upheaval in hospital care is not just limited to those operated by Healthscope. Now a major private Queensland hospital has announced it will close its doors. Management of Toowong Private Psychiatric Hospital says it's being forced to close due to insufficient payments provided by private health insurers. It's something that was put to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on ABC Radio Brisbane yesterday. Anthony Albanese: Quite clearly the health insurers need to pay additional money for the private health care that's provided and that is creating an issue across the board. Elizabeth Cramsie: Brett Heffernan is the Chief Executive of the Australian Private Hospital Alliance. Brett Heffernan: Toowong Private Hospital, it's been an institution in Brisbane, been there for 50 years. It's had the same management team for 30 years and they're closing their doors all because the health insurance industry refused to pay their bills in full. Elizabeth Cramsie: With private hospitals accounting for 62% of all acute mental health care across Australia, Brett Heffernan warns more are dangerously close to shutting down. Brett Heffernan: I've got another eight or so, most of which are mental health hospitals, who are earmarked for closure. Now, there's no comparison between public and private hospital mental health care. They do two very different things. So when these private mental health facilities shut down, there's pretty much nowhere for the patients to go. Elizabeth Cramsie: Dr Danielle McMullen is the President of the Australian Medical Association. Dr Danielle McMullen: It's really important that our governments come together with insurers and private hospitals and groups like the AMA, we think under a private health system authority, to really drive the reforms that we need to see. Elizabeth Cramsie: In a statement, Federal Health Minister Mark Butler says the solutions lie with the insurers and hospitals working together. It's incumbent on them to come together and find solutions. Andy Park: Elizabeth Cramsie for more. A short time ago, I spoke to Ben Harris from Private Health Care Australia. That's the Australian private health insurance industry's peak body. Ben Harris, welcome to you. Good morning, Andy. You heard the PM, the insurers need to pay more. What's your response? Ben Harris: Yesterday, the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority showed that private health insurers paid 7.7% more to private hospitals to March than the previous year. Andy Park: So the PM's wrong, is that it? Ben Harris: No, the PM is right and we are delivering more money to private hospitals for more care for Australians who need care. Andy Park: I mean, with Healthscope's demise and now this closure of an unrelated Brisbane psychiatric hospital, are Australian private health care patients right to worry about what it is they're in fact paying for? Ben Harris: People should be assured at the moment that services are available. The Healthscope situation is very troubling to us and we've been assured by Healthscope that services will remain open. But despite concerns about viability of private hospitals, there is strong demand for hospital services and when hospitals close, there are other hospitals opening. Over the last 10 years, 143 private hospitals have closed but 165 have opened. There are more hospital beds available now than there were 10 years ago. Andy Park: You do have to wonder, there's been a lot of finger pointing between the hospitals and the health funds over things like rising costs and who should carry the can for that. In that debate, has consumer confidence been a victim? Ben Harris: We actually have more people joining private health insurance than ever before and our role as health insurers is to make sure that consumers' premiums don't go up in the high inflation environment any more than necessary. We need to make sure that consumers maintain access to private health insurance, otherwise the system does start falling over. The most important thing for hospitals is to get people through the door and there's a lot that's going into that at the moment. We're seeing out of pocket costs for the community increasing and that's actually tightening the pipeline and meaning fewer people are getting into hospital as people can't afford to go and see a medical specialist. Andy Park: Ben Harris is from Private Healthcare Australia. Thanks for your time this morning. Ben Harris: Thanks Andy. Andy Park: An ongoing investigation into the death of a 24-year-old Indigenous man at a shopping centre in Alice Springs, while in police custody, is having some far-reaching consequences. Now, a long-awaited coronial inquest into the death of another man from the same remote Aboriginal community could be pushed back. Senior Warlpiri leaders and other First Nations advocates demand an independent investigation into this most recent death and are repeating calls for a rethink of policing. Myles Houlbrook-Walk reports and a warning, First Nations people might be advised the following story contains the name of a person who's died. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: The 24-year-old man with disabilities died while being restrained by officers in an Alice Springs supermarket on Tuesday. This woman, who wouldn't give her name, says she was in the shop when security approached him. Woman: I saw a, like, bald man in a grey hoodie come up behind the person who's passed away and kind of wrapped his arms around his torso in, like, a bear hug. You could hear the man screaming in distress throughout the store. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Police have said the Indigenous man had been placing items down the front of his clothing in the Cole's supermarket, leading to the confrontation with security guards. But questions remain about the circumstances leading to his death. Video from police, body-worn camera and security has not been made public, with the family demanding to be shown footage of the moments leading up to his death. Aboriginal Affairs Minister for the Northern Territory, Steve Edgington, was previously a police officer in the NT. Steve Edgington: It is a reasonable request, but what I would say is that the matter is under investigation. They're conducting a very thorough investigation. We don't want to see anything that will compromise the investigation. Karl Hampton: We need the process that's going to be going underway now to be transparent and open for the family so they've got some idea on what really happened. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: That's Warlpiri man, Karl Hampton. Police say the man's cause of death remains undetermined, with the Territory's forensic pathologist continuing to investigate. Karl Hampton: So tragic what's happened. It was unnecessary. But people need to be held accountable for what has happened. And I think we all need to take some time to think about that. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, says it's possible an independent investigation could allay tension in the community. Malarndirri McCarthy: I believe that calls for an independent investigation may be warranted. It may be important to do that. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Meanwhile, the Northern Territory Police Assistant Commissioner, Travis Wurst, has visited Yuendumu, where the man who died was from, before he moved to Alice Springs. It's the same remote community that was home to another Aboriginal man who died in police custody. In 2019, Kumanjayi Walker was shot by police, sparking anger and widespread protests. Theresa Roe is the chair of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency. Theresa Roe: They've been traumatised ever since 2019 with the Kumanjayi case. They were looking forward to hearing the outcomes of the inquiry. And now this has happened. It's very traumatic. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: The findings of a coronial inquiry into Kumanjayi Walker's death had been due in just under two weeks, following a years-long investigation. A spokesperson for the Territory's courts has advised the media that might have to be pushed back, acknowledging it's not yet known how recent events will affect the inquiry. Andy Park: Myles Houlbrook-Walk there. Children make up 43 percent of Papua New Guinea's population, but for many of them, life is incredibly tough. More than half of all kids don't have access to basic water services, according to the UN, and one in five have experienced violence in their short lifetimes. These statistics are alarming, but it's something the country is hoping to turn around with the help of a new parliamentary committee. PNG correspondent Marian Faa reports from Port Moresby. And a warning, this story talks about issues that might be distressing for some. Marian Faa: Working in child protection in PNG's capital, Danielle Winfrey is shaken by what she sees. Danielle Winfrey: Incidents of child abuse is very high, and especially sexual abuse of children, and little girls are most vulnerable. Marian Faa: Two weeks ago, she met a 12-year-old girl who she says was forced into prostitution by her mother. Danielle Winfrey: Sleeping with men to bring money home. And if she didn't want to, she'd beat her daughter up. Marian Faa: The child is now living in a safe house and receiving medical treatment for HIV. But dealing with cases like these every day has an impact on the child protection worker. Danielle Winfrey: Oh, I get emotional. And you know, there's so many of my front-liner colleagues, we become sensitised, we become hardened to it, but I refuse to. I still cry, because it's not normal, and I cannot accept it. Marian Faa: In PNG, childhood is too often a place of hardship. According to the UN, almost half of all children under five are stunted because of malnutrition. 45 per cent don't have access to basic water services, and 80 per cent of teenagers aren't attending school. It's something the country is hoping to turn around with the establishment of a new parliamentary committee for child wellbeing. PNG Prime Minister James Marape says the move has received bipartisan support. James Marape : It is not just a government of the day program, but it is combined leadership. Marian Faa: The new committee was welcomed by the United Nations Special Representative on Violence Against Children, Dr Najat M'jid, who visited PNG for the first time this week. She told the ABC the committee will provide an oversight role. Dr Najat M'jid: Monitoring, receiving complaints, tracking the budget, making all services accountable, because the problem of child protection and wellbeing is so cross-sectoral. Marian Faa: It's brought hope to those who matter most. Doreen Oswald is a grade 12 student in Port Moresby who was at Parliament House for the announcement. Doreen Oswald: We can literally see what's happening around here in our own country, right? All we have to do is maybe we could change. Marian Faa: Year 11 student David Martin hopes it will make a difference for him and his friends. David Martin: I've been raised from the streets, so I have a lot of friends that are not educated, doesn't have a home, proper place to sleep. Most of my friends are not schooling. Marian Faa: And for Danielle Winfrey, it's a marker of change. Danielle Winfrey: So having this political will now that we're seeing, the set up of the Child Protection Parliamentary Committee, that's a huge milestone for the country and it's a ray of hope for us, you know? Marian Faa: In Port Moresby, this is Marian Faa, reporting for AM. And if this story has raised concerns for you or anyone you know, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14. And that's AM for today. Thanks for your company. I'm Andy Park. Sam Hawley: Hi, it's Sam Hawley here, host of the ABC News Daily podcast. He spent a long time praising him, but now Donald Trump's view of Vladimir Putin is shifting. The US president describes his once so-called friend as "crazy" and "playing with fire". Today, international relations expert Rajan Menon on why Putin will only ever humour Trump, but never do as he asks and end the war. Look for the ABC News Daily podcast on the ABC Listen app.

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