The News
US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs faced a big court test Tuesday, as a three-judge panel on an obscure court in Manhattan heard a challenge from small businesses to the sweeping levies announced in April.
The case before the Court of International Trade — among a handful challenging the tariffs — was brought by a New York-based wine distributor and four other businesses represented by the libertarian Liberty Justice Center.
They argue that Trump lacks authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to implement across-the-board tariffs, and that his justification of an “emergency” didn’t meet the standards under the law, claims the Justice Department has disputed.
Even though Trump has paused steeper tariffs on select nations and lowered duties on China for the time being, the case could carry big implications for his broader trade strategy and the 10% universal tariffs that remain.
One other possible “wrinkle,” Politico wrote, is that the US Supreme Court hears arguments later this week on whether lower courts like the trade panel can even check the White House in this way.