3 days ago
U.S. Court of International Trade Blocks Trump's ‘Liberation' Tariffs
The Court of International Trade has ruled that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority in invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping tariffs on the country's biggest trading partners.
The New York-based federal judicial panel comprised of nine presidentially appointed judges handed down a decision to block the Commander in Chief from levying the double-digit duties, writing Wednesday that 'The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs.'
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The judges who heard the case included Trump appointee Timothy Reif along with Gary Katzman, who was appointed by Barack Obama, and Jane Restani, who took to the bench during Ronald Reagan's presidency.
IEEPA—a niche trade law used rarely in the modern era and scarcely known by average citizens—was put in place by Jimmy Carter in 1977. It authorizes the president to regulate international commerce under the circumstance of an 'unusual and extraordinary threat' to American security or the economy originating outside of the country. Once the president declares a national emergency under IEEPA, they can block transactions with other nations, freeze assets and confiscate property to defend U.S. interests.
Trump invoked the law on April 2—'Liberation Day'—when he announced 'reciprocal' duties on about 90 countries, as well as an international baseline tariff of 10 percent. The 25-percent duties separately levied on Mexico and Canada, spurred by complaints about border security and fentanyl trafficking, were also invalidated by Wednesday's decision.
Trump's repeated claims that trade imbalances with other nations amount to fleecing the U.S. and its industrial base don't rise to the standard of a national emergency under IEEPA, the court's decision surmised. Therefore, the president can't circumvent Congress to impose the duties on July 9, when their previous deferral expires.
The decision doesn't apply to 25-percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, autos and parts that Trump imposed using Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, though. The Commerce Department is investigating whether the importation of those items poses a risk to national security.
The administration has 10 days to comply with the ruling and stop the tariffs, though it quickly and quietly appealed the decision. As of end-of-day in Washington, the president had not even Truthed his stance on the matter, though White House spokesperson Kush Desai indicated that the administration would use 'every lever of executive power to address this crisis.' He added that 'It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency.'
The trade court complaints stemmed from lawsuits filed by small businesses and American companies, as well as 15 complaints from states including California, New York and Oregon.
'The courts agree—Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he tried to impose his chaotic, disruptive tariffs that have done nothing but increase costs for American families,' the Golden State's governor, Gavin Newsom, wrote on X Wednesday evening.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, who filed the state's complaint against the Trump administration, called the Court of International Trade's decision 'big news.'
'This means we won't see the uncertainty when it comes to prices that we pay in the grocery store. It'll be more certainty for small businesses. It means that household families are going to have that $3,800 increase every year as a result of these tariffs,' he tweeted.
