Court blocks all the tariffs Trump imposed since January

The Court of International Trade revoked the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump since January under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). According to the White House, this Act was motivated by sovereignty and competitiveness concerns. However, the ruling considered that Trump overstepped his authority.

According to the Court, Congress has the exclusive authority to regulate commerce with trading partners, a constitutional mandate that the Act cannot override. 

The unanimous ruling by the three judges considered that the use of tariffs as a leverage “is impermissible not because it is unwise or ineffective, but because [federal law] does not allow it.”

“The court holds for the foregoing reasons that IEEPA does not authorize any of theWorldwide, Retaliatory, or Trafficking Tariff Orders. The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs. The Trafficking Tariffs fail because they do not deal with the threats set forth in those orders,” comments the Court.

In practice, this means that all tariffs imposed under the IEEPA are invalidated with immediate effect. However, not all tariffs have been imposed using this Act. Such is the case with some tariffs on automobiles, steel, and aluminum.

The tariffs were expected to have effects on prices and availability of some of their products, such as the Nintendo Switch 2, Razor Blade laptops, and even some Tesla models.  However, this could change as the tariffs are dismantled.

The Trump administration filed a notice of appeal against the decision, questioning the authority of the Court.