Most Trump tariffs ruled illegal by appeals court, dealing major blow to trade policy
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that most of PresidentDonald Trump'sglobal tariffsare illegal, striking a massive blow to the core of his aggressivetrade policy.
TheU.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuitheld in a7-4 rulingthat the law Trump invoked when he granted his most expansive tariffs — including his "reciprocal" tariffs — does not actually grant him the power to impose those levies.
"The core Congressional power to impose taxes such as tariffs is vested exclusively in the legislative branch by the Constitution," the court said. "Tariffs are a core Congressional power."
The appellate court paused its ruling from taking effect untilOct. 14, in order to give the Trump administration time to ask the Supreme Court to reverse the decision.
Trump later Friday attacked the appeals court as "Highly Partisan" and asserted that the Supreme Court will rule in his favor.
"If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "If allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America."
"The President's tariffs remain in effect, and we look forward to ultimate victory on this matter," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a separate statement.
Friday's ruling is the second straight loss for Trump in the make-or-break case, known as V.O.S. Selections v. Trump.
The case was consolidated from two separate lawsuits, one filed by a dozen states and the other by five small U.S. businesses.
It is the furthest along of more than half a dozen federal lawsuits challenging Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to impose sweeping tariffs.
"For the second time in this case, a federal court has held that the President's so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs are unlawful," said attorney Jeffrey Schwab of the Liberty Justice Center, which represented the small-business plaintiffs in the case.
"This decision protects American businesses and consumers from the uncertainty and harm caused by these unlawful tariffs," Schwab said in a statement.
"The decision today is a powerful reaffirmation of our nation's core constitutional commitments from our nation's Founders, especially the principle that Presidents must act within the rule of law," said Neal Katyal, Schwab's co-counsel, in the statement.
The Trump administration has argued that IEEPA empowers the president to effectively impose country-specific tariffs at any level if he deems them necessary to address a national emergency.
The U.S. Court of International Trade in late May rejected that stance and struck down Trump's IEEPA-based tariffs, including his worldwide reciprocal tariffs. That ruling also cancelled Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, which were imposed to address the alleged trafficking of fentanyl into the U.S.
The Federal Circuit quickly paused that ruling while Trump's appeal played out. But multiple appellate judges appeared highly skeptical of the Trump administration's arguments when they heard oral arguments in late July.
In Friday's ruling, the court found that the challenged tariffs exceeded Trump's authority under IEEPA.
"Both the Trafficking Tariffs and the Reciprocal Tariffs are unbounded in scope, amount, and duration," the majority ruled.
"These tariffs apply to nearly all articles imported into the United States (and, in the case of the Reciprocal Tariffs, apply to almost all countries), impose high rates which are ever-changing and exceed those set out in the [U.S. tariff system], and are not limited in duration."
The four dissenters said they disagreed with the majority's conclusion on the question of the tariffs' legality.
_300xx250.jpg)
0 댓글