Appeals Court invalidates Trump's global tariffs
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: A federal Appeals court has rejected former President Trump’s claim that emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) justify the imposition of sweeping global tariffs—delivering a significant blow to his efforts to reshape international trade policy.
In V.O.S. Selections Inc. v. Trump, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that IEEPA does not authorise President Trump to impose the specific Liberation Day tariffs, affirming the lower court’s decision that the tariffs are “invalid as contrary to law.”
The court said, "The Government appeals a decision of the Court of International Trade setting aside five Executive Orders that imposed tariffs of unlimited duration on nearly all goods from nearly every country in the world, holding that the tariffs were not authorised by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq. Because we agree that IEEPA’s grant of presidential authority to “regulate” imports does not authorise the tariffs imposed by the Executive Orders, we affirm," the order said.
In a 7-4 decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court’s ruling that the tariffs were not authorised by the statute Trump cited to justify them.
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authorises the president to issue certain economic sanctions to counter an “unusual and extraordinary threat” in an emergency, but it does not permit the president’s sweeping moves, the court ruled.
“Because we agree that IEEPA’s grant of presidential authority to ‘regulate’ imports does not authorise the tariffs imposed by the Executive Orders, we affirm,” the majority wrote.
The ruling does not take effect immediately, as the court withheld the mandate for its decision until Oct. 14, so the administration can appeal to the Supreme Court.
However, the judges discerned “no clear congressional authorisation” for levies of the “magnitude” of those that Trump imposed, they said.
“Reading the phrase ‘regulate … importation’ to include imposing these tariffs is ‘a wafer-thin reed on which to rest such sweeping power’,” the majority wrote.
US President Donald Trump reaffirmed that all tariffs imposed on countries would remain in effect and, if removed, would be "disastrous to the country".
His comments came shortly after a US court ruled that many of Trump's tariffs, which have upended global trade, were illegal.
