US court blocks Trump's tariffs, warns of presidential overreach

The United States Court of International Trade blocked the enactment of most tariffs announced by the US president since April. So far, none of the secretaries in the Trump administration has commented on the matter. Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, wrote on the platform X that "the judicial coup is out of control."

White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai told the media that "it is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency." He added that President Trump promised America would come first, and the administration is committed to using every executive power lever to address this crisis and restore American greatness.

According to Piotr Kuczyński, an expert from Xelion, the Trump administration has several ways to circumvent the court's ruling, which they are likely to use. "Even without appealing to higher instances, though they have already done so," he admits.

The Supreme Court, if the case reaches them, will probably uphold the ruling. Trump can also impose tariffs sector by sector, so it is conceivable that he could segment trade, for instance, with China. This verdict changes little; Trump will continue implementing his tariff policies, comments Kuczyński.

He emphasises that while the US Constitution grants Congress the exclusive right to set tariffs, there are significant exceptions. "There are many ways around this, even without challenging the trade court's decision," the expert points out.

Kuczyński also references Goldman Sachs, which assesses that the American court's decision blocking the tariffs announced by Trump in April is only temporarily delaying the implementation of his trade plans. In his view, the US president will continue to pursue his economic agenda.

Americanist Rafał Michalski notes that the court's decision pertains to a segment of the overall tariff policy, but not to "Section 232," which concerns tariffs on aluminium, steel, or cars.

Michalski points out: "Trump took shortcuts. He took the constitutional right from Congress. IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) only speaks about control of imports and exports. Now we see Trump introducing tariffs and raising them in a centralised manner and announcing them first on social media."

We haven't had this type of court ruling before. President Trump is the first to try to impose tariffs in this way. Previous court rulings from the Roosevelt or Nixon eras did not concern such broad policies as those now being pursued by Trump. This is the first 21st-century ruling addressing the question of whether the executive branch can take away Congress's constitutional right to conduct tariff policy, Michalski tells us.

He adds that "future developments" depend on further court actions. "Trump said, 'I'll check.' The trade court only deals with trade law and will focus on this segment, but Trump may want to examine the case constitutionally if the appeal is upheld. He might try this route to prove he has the right to shape economic policy. If not from trade law, then from constitutional law," assesses the expert on American politics.

In the three months of his presidency, Trump announced four series of tariffs: 25% on Canada and Mexico and 20% on China, 25% on steel and aluminium from all countries, 25% on cars and car parts from all countries (except Canada and Mexico), and also the so-called reciprocal tariffs for nearly 60 countries with a trade surplus with the USA, which were suspended after a few days and replaced by a temporary 10% minimum rate (except China). The total tariff rates on imports from China, which imposed retaliatory tariffs, amounted to 145%.

The US president promised Americans during his election campaign that the introduction of tariffs would reduce the international trade deficit, which amounts to €1.15 trillion, and contribute to the creation of more jobs in the country, especially in the manufacturing industry.