May 29, 2025 14:22:00

Trade court rules Trump's tariffs illegal

The United States Court of International Trade ruled that the tariffs issued by President Donald Trump, including the 10% tariff on all imports and the '

reciprocal tariffs ' that impose tax rates by country and region, are illegal. This is the first legal ruling to put a stop to President Trump's tariff policy, which has been implemented since he took office, and intervention by a higher court is awaited.

UNITED STATES COURT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE Slip Op. 25-66.pdf
(PDF file) https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/25-66.pdf

Trump's Global Tariffs Deemed Illegal and Blocked by US Trade Court - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-28/trump-s-global-tariffs-blocked-by-us-trade-court

Federal trade court blocks Trump's sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-trade-court-0392dbd59f548e49ad4f64254ae3f94a

Trump's tariffs blocked by federal trade court
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/28/trump-tariffs-trade-court-ruling

The Trump administration is facing multiple lawsuits alleging that the tariffs imposed by the president are excessive and illegal. Two of these lawsuits have been heard by a three-judge panel at the International Trade Court, which ruled that President Trump's tariffs violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 and issued injunctions to block them.

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act gives the president the authority to eliminate threats in the event of a national emergency, and President Trump has used this power to impose uniform tariffs, reciprocal tariffs, and additional tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.

The judges concluded that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not provide enough authority to impose unlimited tariffs on products from almost any country around the world, and that Trump's tariff policies exceed his executive authority.

However, there was no mention of other tariffs, such as the 25 percent tariff on foreign steel and aluminum imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

The Trump administration has notified the court that it will appeal the ruling. White House Press Secretary Kush Desai said in a statement, 'The disrespectful treatment of America by other countries has fueled America's historic and persistent trade deficits. These deficits have created national emergencies that have devastated American communities, abandoned workers, and weakened our defense industrial base. How to respond to national emergencies is not up to unelected judges to decide.'

The plaintiffs, made up of small businesses, argued that 'President Trump is abusing the law and imposing tariffs based on a bogus emergency situation. The United States has had a trade deficit for 49 consecutive years, so there is no emergency, and even if there was an emergency, the President should not be allowed to impose blanket tariffs.'

The other lawsuit was filed by 12 state attorneys general, led by Oregon and Arizona. Oregon Attorney General Dan Layfield commented on the ruling, 'This decision reaffirms that our laws matter and that trade decisions should not be made at the whim of the president . This decision suspends tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, including the 145% tariffs on imports from China and the 50% tariffs on imports from the EU.'