The Trump administration on Wednesday appealed a ruling by a federal court specializing in international trade that blocked the implementation of "retaliatory" customs duties imposed by the Republican president through executive orders on virtually all products imported into the United States, according to a document filed with the court. "It is hereby understood that the defendants have appealed to a U.S. appeals court," the document, seen by AFP, said.
A White House spokesman lashed out Wednesday at "unelected judges" who he said had no right to "decide how to deal with a national emergency" after the court's ruling. "President Trump swore to put America first, and the administration is committed to using all the levers of executive branch power to address this crisis and restore America's greatness," spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
What does the decision say?
A US court specializing in international trade issues has overturned, in a decision made public yesterday, Wednesday, the implementation of the "retaliatory" customs duties of at least 10% that Trump wanted and have already been imposed on all products from foreign countries imported into the US, arguing that only Congress has the power to make decisions on taking such measures.
According to the US International Trade Tribunal (ITC), the president cannot invoke the 1977 Economic Emergencies Act – as Mr Trump has done – to justify using presidential executive orders to impose tariffs, in order to “impose unlimited additional duties on goods from virtually all countries”, as stated in its 49-page decision, which was consulted by Agence France-Presse and Deutsche Welle.
According to the judges, the April 2 executive orders, which imposed tariffs of at least 10% on all imported products and up to 50% depending on the country of origin, "exceed the powers granted to the president under the IEEPA law (ed. allows action to be taken in the event of a state of emergency) to regulate imports through the use of customs duties."
In a written opinion accompanying the decision, one of the members of the court, who was not named, pointed out that granting "unlimited" authority to the president regarding customs duties implies a "renunciation" of the legislative power to do so, granting it to the executive branch, which is contrary to the US Constitution.
The IEEPA law allows the president to decide on "necessary economic measures" or impose economic sanctions to "address an 'extraordinary and unusual' threat," the court explained.
Source: protothema.gr
