Pushback against Trump's tariffs

Trade policy uncertainty will continue as the US President, with his on and off agenda to impose levies to strike deals favourable to America, will not back down

- N CHANDRA MOHAN

US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump is doubling down on his disruptive tariff agenda despite facing a major setback with the US Court of International Trade (CIT) ruling that he overstepped his authority to impose sweeping global tariffs.

However, this landmark judgment—which has been paused by an appeals court—does not impinge on his ability to impose sectoral tariffs under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act of 1962 on steel and aluminum or autos and plans to do the same for pharmaceuticals and semiconductors on national security grounds.

He has now increased levies on imported steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%.

These are challenging times for India and the global economy as prospects for a full-blown trade war have only risen.

Trump is unfazed by the US judiciary's pushback, which also includes a separate ruling by a federal judge in Washington declaring a number of tariffs unlawful.

The CIT observed that the federal law did not grant him "unbounded authority" to impose tariffs on nearly every country of the world.

Before Trump 2.0, no US president had invoked provisions of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)—intended to address "unusual and extraordinary" threats during a national emergency—to levy such duties.

Tariffs are not part of this 1977 law.

The CIT also said that the US Constitution provides the Congress exclusive authority to regulate trade with other nations, which is not overridden by his invocation of national emergency powers.