Trump Tariffs Ruled Illegal by Federal Judicial Panel

“A panel of federal judges on Wednesday blocked President Trump from imposing some of his steepest tariffs on China and other U.S. trading partners, finding in two cases that he vastly overstepped his ability to issue those expansive duties under federal law,” the New York Times reports.

“The ruling, by the U.S. Court of International Trade, delivered an early yet significant setback to Mr. Trump in his campaign to strike a series of agreements that reorient the nation’s trading relationships, setting up a legal fight that could soon reach the Supreme Court.”

Wall Street Journal: “Congress typically holds responsibility over tariffs but has delegated many powers to the president over decades. When he imposed the levies in April, Trump said the ongoing U.S. trade deficit had created a national emergency that has hobbled the economy and posed an unusual and extraordinary threat.”

Paul Krugman: “The thing is, it has been obvious all along that Trump’s use of the 1977 International Economic Emergency Powers Act to justify Smoot-Hawley level tariffs was a massive abuse of power. I mean, since when are 4 percent unemployment and 2.5 percent inflation an emergency justifying the reversal of 90 years of policy? But I guess I just assumed that things like that didn’t matter anymore.”