On Thursday, the US Trade Court issued a ruling against the latest 10% global customs tariff imposed by President Donald Trump, considering it unjustified under the 1970s law on which it was based.
A three-judge panel at the US Court of International Trade in Manhattan approved a request submitted by a group of small businesses and twenty states, most of them Democratic-led, to cancel the tariffs.
Trump imposed the 10% tariff in February under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which had never been used before.
Currently, the court has prohibited the administration from enforcing customs duties only on the two companies that filed the lawsuit and the state of Washington.
The decision is the latest setback for Trump’s effort to impose tariffs without the participation of Congress.
Previous fees, which were overturned by the Supreme Court on February 20, were issued under a different law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
In that case, judges ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority, setting off a legal race by importers to recover nearly $170 billion.
The US Department of Justice may appeal the latest ruling from the Trade Court by transferring the case to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which ruled against the Trump administration during the previous tariff battle.
The two cases are “Oregon v. Trump 26-cv-1472,” and “Burlap and Barrel Inc. v. Trump 26-cv-1606,” before the US Court of International Trade in Manhattan.
