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Boston Globe
40 minutes ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Federal court blocks Trump's tariffs. Here's what to know.
The U.S. Court of International Trade has jurisdiction over civil cases involving trade. Its decisions can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington and ultimately to the Supreme Court, where the legal challenges to Trump' tariffs are widely expected to end up. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Which tariffs did the court block? Advertisement The court's decision blocks the tariffs Trump slapped last month on almost all U.S. trading partners and levies he imposed before that on China, Mexico and Canada. On April 2, Trump imposed so-called reciprocal tariffs of up to 50% on countries with which the United States runs a trade deficit and 10% baseline tariffs on almost everybody else. He later suspended the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to give countries time to agree to reduce barriers to U.S. exports. But he kept the baseline tariffs in place. Claiming extraordinary power to act without congressional approval, he justified the taxes under IEEPA by declaring the United States' longstanding trade deficits 'a national emergency.' Advertisement In February, he'd invoked the law to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, saying that the illegal flow of immigrants and drugs across the U.S. border amounted to a national emergency and that the three countries needed to do more to stop it. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to set taxes, including tariffs. But lawmakers have gradually let presidents assume more power over tariffs — and Trump has made the most of it. The tariffs are being challenged in at least seven lawsuits. In the ruling Wednesday, the trade court combined two of the cases — one brought by five small businesses and another by 12 U.S. states. The ruling does leave in place other Trump tariffs, including those on foreign steel, aluminum and autos. But those levies were invoked under a different law that required a Commerce Department investigation and could not be imposed at the president's own discretion. Why did the court rule against the president? The administration had argued that courts had approved then-President Richard Nixon's emergency use of tariffs in a 1971 economic and financial crisis that arose when the United States suddenly devalued the dollar by ending a policy that linked the U.S. currency to the price of gold. The Nixon administration successfully cited its authority under the 1917 Trading With Enemy Act, which preceded and supplied some of the legal language later used in IEPPA. The court disagreed, deciding that Trump's sweeping tariffs exceeded his authority to regulate imports under IEEPA. It also said the tariffs did nothing to deal with problems they were supposed to address. In their case, the states noted that America's trade deficits hardly amount of a sudden emergency. The United States has racked them up for 49 straight years in good times and bad. Advertisement So where does this leave Trump's trade agenda? Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade official who is now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, says the court's decision 'throws the president's trade policy into turmoil.' 'Partners negotiating hard during the 90-day day tariff pause period may be tempted to hold off making further concessions to the U.S. until there is more legal clarity,' she said. Likewise, companies will have to reassess the way they run their supply chains, perhaps speeding up shipments to the United States to offset the risk that the tariffs will be reinstated on appeal. The trade court noted that Trump retains more limited power to impose tariffs to address trade deficits under another statute, the Trade Act of 1974. But that law restricts tariffs to 15% and only for 150 days with countries with which the United States runs big trade deficits. For now, the trade court's ruling 'destroys the Trump administration's rationale for using federal emergency powers to impose tariffs, which oversteps congressional authority and contravenes any notion of due process,' said Eswar Prasad, professor of trade policy at Cornell University. 'The ruling makes it clear that the broad tariffs imposed unilaterally by Trump represent an overreach of executive power.'' AP Writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.
Rhyl Journal
2 hours ago
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Court blocks Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs under emergency powers law
The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based Court of International Trade came after several lawsuits arguing Mr Trump has exceeded his authority, left US trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos. The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The Trump administration is expected to appeal. At least seven lawsuits are challenging the levies, the centrepiece of Mr Trump's trade policy. Tariffs must typically be approved by Congress, but Mr Trump says he has the power to act because the country's trade deficits amount to a national emergency. He imposed tariffs on most of the countries in the world at one point, sending markets reeling. The plaintiffs argue that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPPA) does not authorise the use of tariffs. Even if it did, they say, the trade deficit does not meet the law's requirement that an emergency be triggered only by an 'unusual and extraordinary threat'. The US has run a trade deficit with the rest of the world for 49 consecutive years. Mr Trump imposed tariffs on most of the countries in the world in an effort to reverse America's massive and longstanding trade deficits. He earlier plastered levies on imports from Canada, China and Mexico to combat the illegal flow of immigrants and the synthetic opioids across the US border. His administration argues that courts approved then-president Richard Nixon's emergency use of tariffs in 1971, and that only Congress, and not the courts, can determine the 'political' question of whether the president's rationale for declaring an emergency complies with the law. Mr Trump's Liberation Day tariffs shook global financial markets and led many economists to downgrade the outlook for US economic growth. So far, though, the tariffs appear to have had little impact on the world's largest economy.
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
Court blocks Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs under emergency powers law
The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based Court of International Trade came after several lawsuits arguing Mr Trump has exceeded his authority, left US trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos. The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The Trump administration is expected to appeal. At least seven lawsuits are challenging the levies, the centrepiece of Mr Trump's trade policy. Tariffs must typically be approved by Congress, but Mr Trump says he has the power to act because the country's trade deficits amount to a national emergency. He imposed tariffs on most of the countries in the world at one point, sending markets reeling. The plaintiffs argue that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPPA) does not authorise the use of tariffs. Even if it did, they say, the trade deficit does not meet the law's requirement that an emergency be triggered only by an 'unusual and extraordinary threat'. The US has run a trade deficit with the rest of the world for 49 consecutive years. Mr Trump imposed tariffs on most of the countries in the world in an effort to reverse America's massive and longstanding trade deficits. He earlier plastered levies on imports from Canada, China and Mexico to combat the illegal flow of immigrants and the synthetic opioids across the US border. His administration argues that courts approved then-president Richard Nixon's emergency use of tariffs in 1971, and that only Congress, and not the courts, can determine the 'political' question of whether the president's rationale for declaring an emergency complies with the law. Mr Trump's Liberation Day tariffs shook global financial markets and led many economists to downgrade the outlook for US economic growth. So far, though, the tariffs appear to have had little impact on the world's largest economy.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Federal court blocks Trump's tariffs imposed under emergency powers
US President Trump (Image credits: AP) A federal court ruled on Wednesday that US President Trump does not have the authority to impose broad tariffs on imports using emergency powers. The decision, delivered by a three-judge panel at the Court of International Trade in New York, came after several lawsuits argued that Trump exceeded his legal powers and caused economic disruption by using emergency authority to shape US trade policy, reported AP. Trump had imposed tariffs on most countries, arguing that the US trade deficit constituted a national emergency. He relied on the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify the tariffs, which targeted goods from countries including Canada, China, and Mexico. His administration claimed the move was necessary to combat illegal immigration and the flow of drugs into the US. However, the seven lawsuits challenging the tariffs argue that the law does not permit the use of tariffs and that trade deficits do not meet the law's requirement of an "unusual and extraordinary threat." The US has run a trade deficit for 49 consecutive years. Trump's administration contends that the courts upheld the then-President Richard Nixon's use of emergency tariffs in 1971 and argues that only Congress, not the courts, has the authority to decide whether a president's emergency declaration meets legal standards. Trump's tariffs shook global markets and raised concerns about US economic growth, though economists say the overall impact appears to have been limited. The White House did not comment on the ruling, but the Trump administration is expected to appeal.
Leader Live
3 hours ago
- Business
- Leader Live
Court blocks Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs under emergency powers law
The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based Court of International Trade came after several lawsuits arguing Mr Trump has exceeded his authority, left US trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos. The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The Trump administration is expected to appeal. At least seven lawsuits are challenging the levies, the centrepiece of Mr Trump's trade policy. Tariffs must typically be approved by Congress, but Mr Trump says he has the power to act because the country's trade deficits amount to a national emergency. He imposed tariffs on most of the countries in the world at one point, sending markets reeling. The plaintiffs argue that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPPA) does not authorise the use of tariffs. Even if it did, they say, the trade deficit does not meet the law's requirement that an emergency be triggered only by an 'unusual and extraordinary threat'. The US has run a trade deficit with the rest of the world for 49 consecutive years. Mr Trump imposed tariffs on most of the countries in the world in an effort to reverse America's massive and longstanding trade deficits. He earlier plastered levies on imports from Canada, China and Mexico to combat the illegal flow of immigrants and the synthetic opioids across the US border. His administration argues that courts approved then-president Richard Nixon's emergency use of tariffs in 1971, and that only Congress, and not the courts, can determine the 'political' question of whether the president's rationale for declaring an emergency complies with the law. Mr Trump's Liberation Day tariffs shook global financial markets and led many economists to downgrade the outlook for US economic growth. So far, though, the tariffs appear to have had little impact on the world's largest economy.
