Trump Administration Appeals Tariff Ruling

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to rule that it has the power to impose trade tariffs, reversing a lower court decision.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on Aug. 29 that President Donald Trump’s implementation of new tariff rates was an illegal use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The 7-4 decision invalidates most of the tariffs announced as part of Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” actions, including his justification that the import taxes were necessary because the U.S. trade deficit constituted a national emergency. “The statute bestows significant authority on the president to undertake a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency, but none of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties or the like, or the power to tax,” the court wrote in its opinion.

Not all of Trump’s tariffs are covered by the ruling. Levies on foreign steel, aluminum, automobiles, and auto parts were enacted under a different law and remain in place.

Although it ruled against the Trump administration, the appeals court left the current tariffs in place until Oct. 14, to give the Justice Department time to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. The Justice Department filed that appeal on Wednesday, Sept. 3, and the court will decide whether to take up the case.