Court Overturns Trump Administration’s Latest Tariffs

A federal court ruled May 7 that the Trump administration violated the law in imposing a 10% tariff on most imported goods earlier this year.

In a split decision, the Court of International Trade struck down the second round of tariffs ordered by the president in February after to the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the administration previous policy.

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling determined that the tariffs imposed by the administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unconstitutional.

That ruling applied to tariffs imposed under IEEPA, with Trump then invoking Section 122 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, which allows the temporary imposition of tariffs—up to 15%—to address a “large and serious balance-of-payments deficit.”

In a 53-page ruling, two of the three trade court judges found that the president failed to meet the threshold established under law to use Section 122.

The justices wrote that the administration misinterpreted the law, ruling “the tariffs imposed on plaintiffs are unauthorized by law.”

The court also suggested that if the decision survives any administration appeals, the tariffs “shall be refunded with interest as provided by law.”

The scope of the trade court’s decision was unclear, as it appears limited—for now—to two importers who challenged the tariffs, along with the state of Washington.