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Business Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
US trade court blocks Trump's ‘Liberation Day' tariffs
[NEW YORK] A US trade court on Wednesday (May 28) blocked US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs from going into effect, ruling that the president overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from nations that sell more to the United States than they buy. The Manhattan-based Court of International Trade said the US Constitution gives Congress exclusive authority to regulate commerce with other countries that is not overridden by the president's emergency powers to safeguard the US economy. 'The court does not pass upon the wisdom or likely effectiveness of the president's use of tariffs as leverage. That use is impermissible not because it is unwise or ineffective, but because [federal law] does not allow it,' a three-judge panel said in the decision. The ruling came in a pair of lawsuits, one filed by the nonpartisan Liberty Justice Center on behalf of five small US businesses that import goods from countries targeted by the duties and the other by 13 US states. The companies, which range from a New York wine and spirits importer to a Virginia-based maker of educational kits and musical instruments, have said the tariffs will hurt their ability to do business. At least five other legal challenges to the tariffs are pending. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, a Democrat whose office is leading the states' lawsuit, called Trump's tariffs unlawful, reckless and economically devastating. 'This ruling reaffirms that our laws matter, and that trade decisions can't be made on the president's whim,' Rayfield said. The White House and lawyers for groups that sued did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump has claimed broad authority to set tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (Ieepa), which is meant to address 'unusual and extraordinary' threats during a national emergency. The law has historically been used to impose sanctions on enemies of the US or freeze their assets. Trump is the first US president to use it to impose tariffs. The Justice Department has said the lawsuits should be dismissed because the plaintiffs have not been harmed by tariffs that they have not yet paid, and because only Congress, not private businesses, can challenge a national emergency declared by the president under Ieepa. In imposing the tariffs in early April, Trump called the trade deficit a national emergency that justified his 10 per cent across-the-board tariff on all imports, with higher rates for countries with which the United States has the largest trade deficits, particularly China. Many of those country-specific tariffs were paused a week later. The Trump administration on May 12 said it was also temporarily reducing the steepest tariffs on China while working on a longer-term trade deal. Both countries agreed to cut tariffs on each other for at least 90 days. Trump's on-and-off-again tariffs, which he has said are intended to restore US manufacturing capability, have shocked US financial markets. The US dollar rose against both the Swiss franc, a traditional currency safe-haven, and the Japanese yen following the court decision. Wednesday's decision can be appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC, and ultimately the US Supreme Court. REUTERS
The Guardian
04-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Florida stationery company files first lawsuit challenging Trump tariffs
A Florida stationery entrepreneur has become the first to legally challenge Donald Trump's new China tariffs, claiming they were imposed illegally and threaten American small businesses. Emily Ley, a lifestyle influencer and the founder of Simplified, filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday in Florida against Trump and his administration, arguing the president unlawfully bypassed required procedures when implementing the 20% tariff on Chinese imports. The legal challenge comes amid escalating global trade tensions, including China announcing retaliatory tariffs of 34% on all US goods starting on 10 April in response to Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs. Global markets have already seen trillions wiped from valuations as fears of a recession mount. 'These unlawfully implemented tariffs cause harm to American businesses, American jobs, and American consumers and will be the end of many American dreams,' Ley wrote in a post on social media. The peculiar and sweeping nature of Trump's tariffs has raised eyebrows, with even uninhabited territories like Australia's remote Heard Island and McDonald Islands – home only to penguins and volcanic landscapes – appearing on the White House's list of places facing new trade duties. Despite market turmoil and likely more lawsuits, Trump wrote on Truth Social that his economic policies 'will never change', telling foreign investors 'this is a great time to get rich, richer than ever before!!!' Ley's Pensacola-based company, which sells premium planners and organizational tools, argues Trump exceeded his authority by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (Ieepa) instead of traditional trade rules, which require detailed investigations before tariffs can be implemented. The lawsuit also claims Trump has not demonstrated the tariffs are 'necessary' to address the opioid emergency he cited when imposing them in February, then doubling them in March. Supporters of the president have held that small and local companies like Simplified should go all in on using American manufacturing for their products, an idea the company maintains it has already tried without success. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion 'We pursued domestic manufacturing from the outset,' Ley wrote on Instagram. 'Our first planners were made in the US in 2012. Each unit cost $38 to make. The US did not/does not yet have the infrastructure to support what we make.' The lawsuit adds that the tariffs will divert money that 'could be used to pay salaries, fund growth and pour into communities' and instead forces small businesses like hers to either raise prices dramatically or cut staff.
