US Court decisions on President Trump’s “Reciprocal Tariffs”: Implications for Sri Lanka

After President Donald J. Trump announced in April his “reciprocal tariffs” on more than 180 countries and territories, including that 44% tariff on Sri Lanka, a group of American importers challenged the validity of these tariffs before the United States Court on International Trade.

- By GomI SENADHIRA

A dozen state governments, ruled by the Democratic Party, also joined the importers on this case. The United States Court on International Trade (CIT) is a federal court with exclusive jurisdiction on international trade disputes. On May 28, the court ruled that the law that the president relied on to impose these “reciprocal tariffs” does not authorise him to do so. The Trump administration immediately filed an appeal against the decision with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CACF), and on August 20, the CAFC affirmed the CIT’s decision to strike down the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the president.

However, the Trump administration has appealed against this judgement before the U.S. Supreme Court. The reciprocal tariffs would remain in place pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s review of the CAFC’s decision. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case during the first week of November. Will the justices of the Supreme Court also affirm the CACF decision, which suggested that the Trump administration’s interpretation of the powers vested with him by the Congress is incorrect? Or will they provide the president with power to impose tariffs at his will without any checks or balances? Or will it be a more complex ruling, particularly because only seven of the eleven CACF judges upheld the earlier unanimous CIT ruling.