Tariffs Torpedoed…for now…with updates

A US Federal Court, the Court of International Trade, has by a 3-0 ruling, held that the tariffs introduced by Trump are illegal and unconstitutional.

They ruled that the power to impose tariffs belongs to Congress only and that President cannot use the argument that he is acting under an economic emergency to introduce tariffs unilaterally.

The tariffs that were struck down are the fentanyl tariffs that were introduced as a punishment on China, Canada and Mexico and all of the tariffs introduced on “Liberation Day” and the 10% universal tariffs on all countries.

Where does this go next? I am sure this will end up in the Supreme Court eventually. In the meantime do countries negotiate tariffs with the US or wait it out for the final outcome? And if the Supreme Court upholds this ruling, would Congress, which is controlled by the Republicans act to impose similar tariffs? Also the power given to the President to impose tariffs using s.232 remains untouched as that was not challenged. This was the power to impose tariffs on sectors such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals etc.

The uncertainty continues…

PS

The appeals court has now allowed the tariffs to remain in place pending an appeal.

A strange situation where the tariffs are in place and the US government is collecting revenue and negotiating trade deals on the basis that the promised tariffs will kick in if a new trade deal is not reached. What if the final court of appeal upholds the decision of the court below? What will happen to the revenue collected so far? Should a country continue negotiating with the US on the basis the the threatened tariffs will kick in or take a chance? Difficult decisions…

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