China first: US court rules that Trump had no right to impose tariffs on countries, so they are invalid

 

"The US Court of International Trade ruled on Wednesday that President Donald Trump did not have the right to impose "retaliatory" tariffs on various countries.

 

He did so based on the International Emergency Economic Power Act (IEEPA), although the US was not in a state of emergency at the time the tariffs were imposed.

 

The panel of judges said that IEEPA gives the president the right to impose necessary economic sanctions during a state of emergency "to combat an unusual and extraordinary threat."

 

The decision gave the White House 10 days to complete the bureaucratic process of suspending the tariffs, BNS reports.

 

The Financial Times writes that this decision is a dramatic turn in the trade wars that Trump started in the first months of his presidency. The court's ruling will embolden tariff opponents in various American companies, foreign capitals and the US Congress, who have tried to persuade Trump to roll back the tariffs.

 

The court's ruling, which was passed by a panel of judges at the Court of International Trade, is very clear.

 

The executive orders that Trump issued the tariffs are "declared invalid as contrary to law," the court said.

 

"The global and retaliatory tariff orders exceed any authority granted to the President <...> to regulate imports with tariffs," the ruling reads.

 

BNS reports that Trump administration lawyers immediately filed an appeal of the ruling.

 

Gregory W. Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the ruling confirms that "these tariffs are an unlawful abuse of executive power."

 

“Trump’s bogus national emergency declaration to justify a global trade war was an absurd and unlawful use of the IEEPA,” the Democrat added.

 

After the court ruled that Trump’s tariffs were invalid, U.S. stock futures and Asian stocks rose, extending a rally that was also fueled by strong performance from chipmaker Nvidia.

 

A White House spokeswoman criticized the decision, saying that “it is not up to unelected judges to decide what constitutes a national emergency.”

 

“President Trump has promised to put America first, and the administration is committed to using the full power of the executive branch to resolve this crisis and restore American greatness,” the White House said in a statement.

 

Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s closest White House aides, took to social media to denounce the “judicial coup” that he said was “out of control.”

 

China urges Trump to heed ‘rational voice of domestic stakeholders’

 

China on Thursday urged the United States to “completely withdraw illegal unilateral tariff measures” after a US federal court blocked the entry into force of most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, BNS reported.

 

“China urges the United States to heed the rational voice of the international community and domestic stakeholders and fully withdraw illegal unilateral tariff measures,” Commerce Ministry spokeswoman He Yongqian told a news conference.

 

China’s Foreign Ministry, in turn, responded to the US federal court’s ruling and said there were no winners in a trade war.

 

"On the issue of tariffs, China has repeatedly stated its position clearly. There are no winners in a trade war," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press conference when asked how this decision would affect negotiations with China."