The US Court of International Trade has unanimously found Trump's baseline and reciprocal tariffs to be “unlawful” after several lawsuits were filed against the US president's universal duties on imports. The court halted the implementation of such tariffs, ruling that the president overstepped his authority as defined by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 and that the White House's emergency claims were unfounded.
Since the beginning of his second term in office, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly addressed the issue of trade deficits with other countries, arguing that implementing reciprocal tariffs was an immediate necessity to protect the US economy.
The judges overseeing the case decided that only the US Congress has the executive authority to take such measures, not the US president, and that Trump's tariffs do not meet the threshold of addressing a genuine threat. They also considered that trade deficits, which have persisted for decades without causing economic harm, do not constitute an emergency.
Trump administration officials criticized the ruling and immediately appealed the decision, with deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller calling it a "judicial coup." White House spokesman Kush Desai referenced the trade deficit issue and stated that the Trump administration remains committed to using "every lever of executive power to address this crisis."
The court was not asked to address tariffs imposed on specific goods like cars, steel, and aluminum, which fall under different legislation. The other tariffs, including 10 percent baseline tariffs and reciprocal tariffs, will remain in effect pending the appeal process, though most of them had been postponed recently anyway.