U.S. Court Slashes Trump’s Liberation Day Tariffs
(MENAFN) A U.S. federal trade court has ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded the limits of his authority when he imposed broad international tariffs without Congressional approval, according to various news outlets.
On Wednesday, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of International Trade issued a permanent injunction blocking what were dubbed Liberation Day tariffs—introduced by Trump on April 2. The administration had invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify the measures, bypassing legislative consent.
Trump argued that the tariffs, which targeted imports from countries like China, Mexico, and Canada, were intended to combat fentanyl smuggling into the United States. He used the emergency economic powers statute to enact significant duties: 30% on Chinese goods, 25% on select products from Mexico and Canada, and a sweeping 10% on a broad range of imported goods.
However, the court sided with the plaintiffs who challenged the legality of using the IEEPA for tariff enforcement. The judges concluded that the statute does not grant the president authority to levy such trade penalties. They further declared that even if the law were interpreted to allow it, it "would be an unconstitutional delegation of Congress’s power to impose tariffs."
As a result, the ruling halts all tariffs imposed under the IEEPA, including the 10% across-the-board import duty and the targeted 30% and 25% rates. It’s important to note, though, that this decision does not affect Trump’s tariffs on automobiles, auto parts, steel, or aluminum, which were enacted under a separate statute—Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.
The lawsuit challenging the tariffs was filed in April by the Liberty Justice Center, a libertarian public interest law firm. They represented several small businesses, including the wine importer VOS Selections, who claimed substantial economic damage from the tariffs.
Following the court’s decision, plaintiff attorney Ilya Somin told a new outlet, "We won – the state of Oregon and state plaintiffs also won." He added, "The opinion rules that the entire system of liberation day and other IEEPA tariffs is illegal and barred by permanent injunction."
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