US President Donald Trump reacted strongly to a federal appeals court ruling that found many tariffs illegal.
The Trump administration plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court to have it overturned.
Last week, the court ruled in a 7-4 decision that Trump’s global tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), enacted in the 1970s, were excessive. The court postponed the ruling until October 14, giving the White House time to appeal.
Trump, in a statement on social media, said, “Without tariffs and the TRILLIONS of dollars we collect, our country would be destroyed, our military might would be destroyed in an instant.” The president claimed that removing tariffs would turn the United States into a “third world country.”
Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro called the decision “partisan injustice weaponized at its worst” and claimed that a negative Supreme Court outcome would be “the end of the United States.”
Following the ruling, importers raised the possibility of refunding the taxes they paid, but experts argue that the process will take a long time. Angela M. Santos of the law firm ArentFox Schiff said that while the ruling is encouraging for importers, “the case is not over yet.”
Beyond emergency economic powers, the Trump administration can also impose tariffs based on alternative laws, such as Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. However, these mechanisms are more limited in scope and speed.
Foreign trade experts say that if the United States loses in the Supreme Court, it will not only have to repay billions of dollars in customs revenue, but also put agreements with the European Union and other countries at risk.
In a statement following the decision, Trump described the stock market fluctuation as “the result of uncertainty” and announced that he would hold an “emergency meeting” on the issue tomorrow.
*This is not investment advice.
