US Trade Court: US President amid ongoing war with Iran donald trump The business policies of India have suffered a major legal blow on Thursday. The US Trade Court has ruled against the latest 10% global tariff imposed by the President, declaring it illegal. The court made it clear that these blanket taxes could not be justified under the trade laws of the 1970s.
Last month, the court heard arguments on lawsuits filed by 24 states and several small businesses. Most of these states were led by Democrats. He had challenged these taxes in the court which came into effect from February 24. The states argued that this step of the President was an attempt to bypass the major decision of the Supreme Court, which had canceled Trump’s 2025 tariffs (imposed under IEEPA).
misuse of law
In the order issued in February, Trump had invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. The law allows tariffs to be imposed for up to 150 days to prevent a ‘payments deficit’ or a significant decline in the value of the dollar. However, the International Trade Court ruled by a 2-1 majority that the President had misused this decades-old law.
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Refund order within 5 days
This decision of the court currently applies only to those parties who had challenged the administration in the court. The judges have directed the defendants to comply with this order within 5 days and refund their money to the importers involved in the case. However, tariffs imposed on sectors like steel, aluminum and automobile will continue as they do not fall under the purview of the Supreme Court.
Debate on economic crisis
The Trump administration had defended the move, citing an annual merchandise trade deficit of $1.2 trillion and a current account deficit equal to 4% of GDP. In contrast, according to a Reuters report, many economists and experts believe that the US is not facing a ‘payments crisis’, making it easier to legally challenge these taxes.
Now the US Justice Department can challenge this decision in the ‘US Court of Appeals’. It is noteworthy that the Appeal Court had also ruled against the Trump administration in the previous tariff dispute. The entire case centers on the temporary 10% tariffs that were imposed after the Supreme Court struck down last year’s sweeping tax. The current charges are set to expire on July 24.