Legal battle over tariffs challenges Trump's economic strategy
A legal battle over tariffs threatens Donald Trump's control over his favoured economic weapon. On Thursday evening, the President of the United States once again criticised lower court judges who ruled against him, labelling their decision as "bad."
Since his return to power, U.S. President Donald Trump has been using tariffs as his favoured economic weapon. He imposed duties on imports from both allies and opponents, raising their rates to extremely high levels before suddenly changing his mind and lowering the fees.
As noted by the BBC, markets and world leaders have tried to anticipate his next moves, while major retailers have warned of rising prices for American consumers and potentially empty store shelves.
Trump claims he has the right to unilaterally impose tariffs in response to a national economic crisis, which he argues does not allow waiting for Congressional legislation.
However, on Wednesday, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that he exceeded the authority granted by the extraordinary powers he was using. The court gave the White House 10 days to remove nearly all tariffs it deemed illegally imposed.
The White House appealed, and the appeals court put the trade court's decision on hold, meaning the tariffs will remain in effect for now. The administration argued that a ruling against Trump "would kneecap the president on the world stage, cripple his ability to negotiate trade deals and imperil the government’s ability to respond to future national emergencies."
Trump vs. the courts
On Thursday evening, Trump once again criticised lower court judges who ruled against him, labelling their decision as "bad." Until now, control over the economy rested on his shoulders, and the tariff rates imposed on other countries changed depending on Trump's mood.
He raised tariffs on imported goods from China to 145%, only to later lower them to 30%. A few weeks later, he threatened the European Union with 50% tariffs, before backing down.
Former Trump ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, told the BBC that this approach was deliberate. "What Trump is doing is exactly what he would do as a business person. He would immediately find a point of leverage to get someone's attention today. Not next month, not next year... he wants to have these conversations now," he said.
Trump has long been convinced that tariffs are the answer to many of America's economic problems. He claims that by raising prices on imported goods and reviving the American manufacturing sector, he will "make America great again."
Trump boasts about the billions of dollars that tariffs have already brought into the U.S. treasury. The president argues that they will help revitalise U.S. industry, convincing companies to move factories to the United States to avoid duties.
However, University of Michigan economics professor Justin Wolfers described Trump's methods as "madness". "If you believe in tariffs, what you want is for businesses to understand that the tariffs are going to... be permanent so that they can make investments around that and that's what would lead the factories to come to the United States," he said.
