A US federal appeals court has ruled that a significant portion of President Donald Trumpʼs tariffs were illegal.
The New York Times writes about this.
The decision upheld a lower courtʼs May ruling that Trump did not have unlimited authority to impose taxes on nearly all goods imported into the United States.
However, appeals judges delayed implementation of their ruling until mid-October, allowing the tariffs to remain in place so the Trump administration could appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
The NYT notes that the appeals decision has called into question the basis of Trumpʼs trade strategy, which was based on the 1970s International Emergency Economic Powers Act. This law gives the US president expanded powers over financial transactions during certain emergencies, usually to impose sanctions.
Trump cited US trade deficits and drug trafficking at the border as national emergencies that he believed warranted the use of the law.
Hours before the decision, the US presidentʼs top economic advisers expressed particular concern about the fate of US trade deals with other governments. Among them, they named the agreement with the European Union, which made concessions to avoid even higher US taxes on its goods.
Trump himself sharply criticized the court and its findings and made it clear that he was preparing an appeal to the Supreme Court.
"If these tariffs ever go away, it will be a complete disaster for the country. It will make us financially weak, and we should be strong. The United States will no longer tolerate huge trade deficits and unfair tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers imposed by other countries, friend or foe, that undermine our producers, farmers, and everyone else," he wrote.
The appeals courtʼs decision affects a wide range of tariffs, some of which were imposed early in Trumpʼs presidency. Among them are his toughest tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico, as well as so-called mirror tariffs that Trump later reversed and began imposing this month.
Trumpʼs tariffs
The US President Donald Trump reported on April 2 that he would impose tariffs on goods from other countries. The new tariffs will apply to more than 180 countries and territories (not including Russia, North Korea, Cuba and Belarus, which are already under sanctions). A 10% tariff was imposed on Ukraine.
On April 9, Trump postponed tariffs on all but China, which received the highest tariffs of 145%, while most countries are subject to a base rate of 10%. Then, on April 10, the EU mirrored the imposition of tariffs in response to the US tariffs by 90 days; before that decision, the new tariffs were to take effect on April 15.
In July, Trump began reporting new tariffs. In particular, Japan and South Korea received a 25% tariff, Laos and Myanmar — 40%, Malaysia and Kazakhstan — 25%, and South Africa — 30%.
And from August 1, Washington imposed a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union and Mexico, some of the United Statesʼ largest trading partners.
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