The judge’s panel discovered that the president has stepped over his authority by imposing a full obligation on imports from trading partners.
The US Trade Court found President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he imposed comprehensive tariffs on imports from US trading partners, and within 10 days it suspended the tariffs and issued a permanent injunction calling for a government response.
The New York-based International Trade Court said the US Constitution gives rise to Congress’ exclusive authority to regulate commercial transactions with other countries that have not been overridden by the president’s emergency powers to protect the US economy.
“The court has not inherited the wisdom or potential validity of using the president’s tariffs as leverage,” the three judge panel wrote Wednesday. “It’s not because its use is wise but ineffective; [federal law] I won’t allow it. ”
The ruling could derail Trump’s global trade strategy and use sudden tariffs on concessions from trading partners if it stands. It creates deep uncertainty regarding multiple simultaneous negotiations with the European Union, China, and many other countries.
The court has broken Trump’s customs orders issued since January under the International Emergency Economic Force Act (IEPA), a law aimed at dealing with rare and extraordinary national emergency situations. Tariffs introduced under other laws, such as those targeting specific industries such as steel, automobiles and aluminum, are not addressed in this ruling.
The Trump administration promptly filed an appeal and challenged the jurisdiction of the court. A White House spokesman argued that trade imbalances have led to a national crisis. “It’s not about determining how unelected judges will properly deal with national emergency,” said Deputy White House Press Secretary Kush Desai, who is defending Trump’s enforcement actions necessary to protect the industry and safety of the United States.
Reported from Washington, D.C., Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna said the court judges have been appointed by various Democrats and Republican presidents.
“This particular court cannot be accused of being an activist because it denounced Trump and other courts that he ruled against him,” Hanna said.
“One of the judges was appointed by Trump himself, the other was appointed by former President Barack Obama, and the third was appointed by former Republican President Ronald Reagan.”
The International Trade Court will deal with issues related to customs and trade law. That ruling could be challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Federal Circuit, and eventually taken to the Supreme Court.
Financial analyst Robert Scott told Al Jazeera that tariffs failed to deliver concrete results even in Trump’s first term. “Most of these tariffs have not improved the US trade position,” he said. “The US trade deficit continues to grow and China’s exports to the world continue to rise.
The ruling came in a pair of cases filed by the nonpartisan Centre for Freedom Justice on behalf of five small businesses importing goods from countries that target their duties.
Companies ranging from importers of wine and spirits in New York to manufacturers of education kits and instruments based in Virginia, say tariffs undermine their ability to do business.
“Here there is no doubt of narrowly tailored relief. If the challenged customs order is illegal with regard to the plaintiff, they are illegal for all,” the judge wrote in their decision.
At least five other legal challenges to customs duties are pending.
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