The US court has declared Trump’s tariffs unconstitutional: the president exceeded his powers

The US court has declared Trump’s tariffs unconstitutional: the president exceeded his powers

The U.S. Federal Court of International Trade has ruled that the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump are unlawful, asserting that the head of state exceeded his authority.

This is reported by  Financial Times, Bloomberg, Politico

On Wednesday, a panel of three judges from the U.S. Federal Court of International Trade unanimously decided to declare Trump’s executive orders on broad tariffs on imports from several countries unconstitutional.

The court concluded that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which Trump cited to justify the imposition of tariffs, does not grant him such powers. According to the U.S. Constitution, only Congress has the authority to set tariffs.

"The orders concerning general and reciprocal tariffs exceed any powers granted to the president, ... for regulating imports through tariffs," stated the court’s decision.

The court ruled that Trump’s orders "are declared invalid as they are contrary to the law."

Specifically, the case concerns the 25% tariffs he imposed on goods from Canada and Mexico, the 20% tariffs on Chinese imports, as well as a 10% tariff on imports from all U.S. trading partners, which were justified by the need to reduce the trade deficit.

The court also canceled the "reciprocal" tariffs ranging from 20% to 50% on products from 60 countries that were set to take effect on July 9, unless foreign governments could reach an agreement with the White House by that time.

"We initiated this case because the Constitution does not grant any president unlimited power to undermine the economy. This decision confirms that our laws matter and that trade decisions cannot be made on the president’s whim," stated Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, who, along with 11 other attorneys general, filed the lawsuit against Trump’s tariffs.

A White House representative criticized the decision and stated that "President Trump promised to put America first, and the administration is committed to using all executive powers to overcome this crisis and restore a great America."

Minutes after the decision was announced, the Trump administration filed an appeal.