• Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” ruled illegal by US federal appeals court, upholding earlier decision.
• White House denounces the decision, calls it a “total disaster.”
• New uncertainties raised for US trading partners who are currently in negotiations.
A US federal appeals court has ruled President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” are illegal, causing a new state of uncertainty for the country’s trading partners.
In a seven-four majority, the court ruled that Trump’s invocation of emergency powers to impose tariffs of “unlimited duration on nearly all goods from nearly every country in the world” had exceeded his presidential mandate. This ruling upholds an earlier decision passed by a specialised trade court in New York. It also allows the tariffs to remain in place while the Trump administration appeals to the Supreme Court. This ruling goes to the heart of President Trump’s economic policy, who called the decision a “total disaster for the Country” and asserted that the Supreme Court would rule in his favour. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro similarly denounced the decision, saying that a loss in the Supreme Court on this matter would signal “the end of the United States.” It also raises new uncertainties which may disrupt the strategies of trading partners who are still in negotiations with the US, and who might decide to wait for the outcome of this legal battle.
Trump has justified his “reciprocal tariffs” as well as a set of tariffs imposed against China, Canada and Mexico in February, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows the president to address “unusual and extraordinary” threats characterised as national emergencies. Historically used for sanctioning enemies or freezing their assets, Trump is the first president to use this law for imposing tariffs, declaring the US trade imbalance to be a national emergency.
(with inputs from PTI)
