MOSCOW, May 29 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) — The US Court of International Trade has ruled that United States (US) President Donald Trump exceeded his authority in imposing trade tariffs and has decided to block them, Sputnik/RIA Novosti reported.
“The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] to regulate importation by means of tariffs … The challenged Tariff Orders will be vacated and their operation permanently enjoined,” the court said in a statement on Wednesday.
Later in the day, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai commented on the court’s ruling.
“Foreign countries’ nonreciprocal treatment of the United States has fuelled America’s historic and persistent trade deficits.
“These deficits have created a national emergency that has decimated American communities, left our workers behind, and weakened our defence industrial base – facts that the court did not dispute.
“It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency.
“President Trump pledged to put America First, and the administration is committed to using every lever of executive power to address this crisis and restore American Greatness,” Desai said in a statement, as quoted by US media.
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order that implemented reciprocal tariffs on imports from various countries.
The base tariff rate was established at 10 per cent, with higher rates applied to 57 countries based on the US trade deficit with each specific nation.
On April 9, Trump declared that a baseline tariff of 10 per cent would be imposed for 90 days on over 75 countries that had not retaliated and had requested negotiations, except for China.
— BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI