US court pauses decision blocking Trump's 10 percent global tariff

"A federal appeals court in the United States has temporarily paused a lower court decision to block President Donald Trump's 10 percent global tariff. On Tuesday, a US federal appeals court issued a short-term administrative stay as the court case continues. At stake is whether the tariff issued under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act falls within the scope of Trump's presidential authority."

"Trump imposed the sweeping 10 percent import tax in January, after the Supreme Court struck down another set of far-reaching tariffs that the president justified using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that the IEEPA does not authorise the president to impose blanket tariffs, as Trump had argued. Similar questions have arisen about Trump's new tariff policy."

"On Friday, a panel at the US Court of International Trade ruled two to one that Trump had failed to meet the criteria under Section 122 to apply the new tariffs. The President's Proclamation fails to assert that those required conditions have been satisfied, the lower-court ruling asserts. It added that the proclamation is invalid, and the tariffs imposed on Plaintiffs are unauthorized by law."

"The plaintiffs a coalition of 24 states have argued that Trump's tariff campaign is an abuse of executive power. They have also pointed to the downstream effects, as consumers shoulder the costs of the added taxes. It's American consumers and businesses that have ultimately paid for the president's illegal tariff campaign, Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement following Friday's ruling."

A coalition of 24 states argued that Trump’s 10 percent global tariff does not satisfy the requirements of the 1974 Trade Act. A federal appeals court issued a short-term administrative stay, pausing a lower-court decision that blocked the tariff while the case continues. The dispute centers on whether the tariff falls within presidential authority under Section 122. Trump imposed the tariff in January after the Supreme Court rejected his earlier justification for broad tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, ruling that IEEPA does not authorize blanket tariffs. A panel at the Court of International Trade found Trump failed to meet Section 122 criteria and said the proclamation was invalid and the tariffs were unauthorized. Plaintiffs argued the tariff campaign abuses executive power and shifts costs to consumers and businesses.

Read at www.aljazeera.com