The United States Court of International Trade in Manhattan, New York, ruled on the 28th to prohibit the implementation of the Trump administration's executive orders to impose additional tariffs on multiple countries under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
According to the court's ruling, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the US president to issue any global tariff orders, retaliatory tariff orders, or tariffs related to illegal transactions.
The ruling states that the relevant tariff executive orders will be revoked, and the implementation of these orders will be permanently prohibited. If these executive orders are deemed illegal for the plaintiffs, they are considered illegal for everyone.
A panel of three judges wrote in an opinion, "The court's consideration of the case is whether the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act authorizes the President to impose unlimited tariffs on goods from almost every country in the world."
"The court does not believe that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act confers such unrestricted power, and therefore revokes the tariffs implemented under the act."
The court stated that any interpretation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act that grants unlimited tariff power is unconstitutional. The act authorizes the president to impose necessary economic sanctions in times of emergency "to counter extraordinary and significant threats."
The ruling gives the White House 10 days to complete the administrative procedures to stop the tariffs.
In February this year, the Trump administration imposed additional tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China to the US under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and on April 2, imposed so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on all trading partners. On April 2, the US imposed a 10% "minimum base tariff" on trading partners and higher tariffs on certain partners.
The ruling was against lawsuits filed by five small businesses and 12 US states on April 14 and April 23, respectively, against the federal government. These businesses argued that the US government does not have the authority to announce comprehensive tariff hikes without Congressional approval and demanded the halt of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The 12 states stated in their lawsuit that the Trump administration's tariff policy was "a whim, not the rightful exercise of legal authority," and demanded the court declare the "reciprocal tariffs" illegal and block their implementation.
The White House Rapidly Appeals
After the ruling was issued, the White House severely criticized it, claiming that "unelected judges" have no right to decide how the president should properly handle national emergencies.
Trump spokesperson Desai responded by stating: "President Trump is committed to putting America first, and the administration is dedicated to employing all administrative powers to address America's crisis and restore its greatness."
The Trump administration promptly filed an appeal with the federal circuit court on the 28th.