By PAUL WISEMAN and DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday hailed a favorable decision by a federal appeals court over his sweeping tariff policy as a “great” win for the United States.
Trump said on his social media site that the court’s decision Tuesday night to let the government keep collecting his sweeping import taxes while challenges to his signature trade policy continue on appeal means the U.S. “can use TARIFFS to protect itself against other countries.”
“A great and important win for the U.S.,” Trump wrote.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit extends a similar ruling it made after another federal court struck down the tariffs May 28, saying Trump had overstepped his authority. Noting that the challenges to Trump’s tariffs raise “issues of exceptional importance,″ the appeals court said it would expedite the case and hear arguments July 31.
The case involves 10% tariffs the Republican president imposed on almost every other country in April and bigger ones he imposed and then suspended on countries with which the United States runs trade deficits. It also involves tariffs he plastered on imports from China, Canada and Mexico to pressure them to do more to stop the illegal flow of immigrants and synthetic opioids across the U.S. border.
In declaring the tariffs, Trump had invoked emergency powers under a 1977 law. But a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled he had exceeded his power.
That ruling from the Court of International Trade came after several lawsuits arguing Trump’s tariffs exceeded his authority and left the country’s trade policy dependent on his whims.
The tariffs upended global trade, paralyzed businesses and spooked financial markets.