Donald Trump’s tariffs stopped in court – what does that mean?

The decision causes a sensation and is a bitter defeat for US President Donald Trump: A federal court in the United States has denied its government the authority to impose extensive tariffs, citing an emergency law. What does this decision follow? Some important questions and answers:

The decision of the responsible court for international trade in New York concerns the most tariffs that have been issued by Trump’s government or temporarily exposed. It includes the penalty taxes that the Republican had imposed on the “Day of Liberation” he described in early April. At that time, Trump imposed so -called mutual tariffs, which he founded with the trade deficit of the respective trading partner – temporarily resolved them because of the descent at the financial markets. At the same time, he imposed on universal tariffs of 10 percent that affect almost all over the world. Certain tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China are also affected.

On the other hand, tariffs that have issued the government to a different legal framework than the emergency law-based on paragraph 232 of the “Trade Expansion Act” from 1962, are not affected. Here, too, Trump relies on national security.

The responsible court for international trade in New York ordered that the tariffs in question should be “lifted and their application permanently prohibited”. However, this does not mean that the tariffs are directly overridden. According to this, the government’s decision gives up to ten days in order to complete the bureaucratic process of lifting.

The decision is a blow to Trump’s trade agenda, but “not the last word”, the “New York Times” quotes the trade lawyer Ted Murphy. The US government has already initiated the first steps for an appeal against the decision and submitted a corresponding message in court. According to Murphy, it is also likely that the Trump government will submit an urgency application to suspend the judicial order.

The legal dispute is now expected to go through the instances. It is not excluded that an appellate court allows tariffs again until a final decision. Ultimately, the case could land before the Supreme Court-the Supreme Court. Here Trump moved the majority far to the right during his first term due to several ritles.

Trump can also try to impose the tariffs based on another legal framework. If he does this, it is likely that it will be sued again. The uncertainty for trading partners and consumers should therefore remain foreseeable.

“For the EU and other exporters, the judgment offers no reason to calm down,” explains Laura von Daniels from the Science and Politics Foundation. It refers to other laws in addition to the emergency law that Trump could use to impose tariffs. “To do this, he has to participate in the congress and the implementation then takes a little longer,” she explains. Once introduced, the tariffs would then be preserved for many years.

The director of the German Economy Institute, Michael Hüther, also does not regard the decision as a safe end to Trump’s customs policy. “It is certain that the uncertainty remains high,” he told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “Even if the courts definitely stop Trump, the damage to the trust that the trade policy in conjunction with questionable security promises and speculation about the role of the US dollar has caused a global currency.” Germany and Europe should reflect on their own strengths.

Both the Federal Government and the EU reserved after the decision. A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Economics said in Berlin that ongoing judicial proceedings could not be commented on in the United States. “We continue to rely on the fact that a good solution for both sides can be achieved in the negotiations between the EU Commission and the US government,” it said.

The EU Commission, responsible for trade policy, did not initially want to comment on the court decision. She is currently negotiating with the US government on a possible deal for the mutual cancellation of tariffs and other trade restrictions.