Courts deal Trump a setback on tariffs

What happened

President Trump doubled down on his tariff agenda last week and hiked import taxes on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%, after a court found that many of his "Liberation Day" levies had been imposed illegally. The Court of International Trade—a panel of three federal judges, one a Trump appointee— ruled unanimously that the president had exceeded his authority by claiming emergency powers to tax imports from nearly every country. Hours later, a federal judge in a separate case ruled that Trump lacked the power to impose tariffs "to reorder the global economy." The trade court decision briefly halted Trump's 30% tariffs on China, 25% tariffs on some goods from Mexico and Canada, and blanket 10% tariffs on most imports, but an appellate court stayed the ruling pending an appeal. Trump assailed the judges as "backroom 'hustlers'" and called on the Supreme Court to overrule them. His economic advisers said that even if the justices side with the trade court, Trump had other mechanisms for imposing levies. "Rest assured, tariffs are not going away," said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Trump announced his higher tariffs on metals—imposed under a different authority and unaffected by the court rulings—at a rally at U.S. Steel in Pennsylvania. The measures mean "nobody's going to be able to steal your industry," the president told cheering steelworkers. Trump later griped it was "extremely hard" to strike a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping and accused his counterpart of violating a trade truce that lowered triple-digit tariffs while the countries work on a long-term deal. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the talks were "a bit stalled."

What the editorials said

The trade court's ruling was vital not just for our sputtering economy but also for "the rule of law," said The Wall Street Journal. Trump's use of a 1977 law granting the president emergency powers to "deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat" was a specious power grab. He cited both the long-running fentanyl crisis and the trade deficit as "emergencies" allowing him to seize tariff powers the Constitution grants to Congress. Now the courts have affirmed "America doesn't have a king who can rule by decree."

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"It's hard to believe U.S. trade policy could get any more confused and confusing," said Bloomberg, "but somehow it has." The paused ruling "has only deepened the uncertainty" and havoc wrought by Trump's fickle tariff agenda. And trade as usual won't resume until the Supreme Court decides whether the White House can declare non-emergencies to be emergencies. As we await that decision, businesses will avoid making major investments and foreign countries, realizing the justices could suddenly delete Trump's tariffs, will feel little need to strike trade deals.

What the columnists said

The steel tariffs may give domestic producers a boost, said Scott Horsley at NPR.org. But for every U.S. steelworker, "there are about 80 people working for companies that use steel." Many will be stung by higher prices on imported metals, with "ripple effects" hitting the auto, mining, and construction sectors. Analysts say the 25% steel tariffs Trump imposed in his first term cost "tens of thousands of downstream manufacturing jobs." And consumers will see price hikes on goods ranging from washing machines to a six-pack of beer. Trump's trade war may have "hit a constitutional brick wall," said Gary Winslett in The Washington Post, but it "isn't over." Trump now has several options. He could ignore the rulings, triggering "an immediate constitutional crisis." He could prevail on Congress to grant him sweeping tariff powers, or turn to "statutory tools" that are more cumbersome than emergency orders but are "quite exploitable." There's another choice: "embrace victimhood" and lam- baste the judges for blocking "the greatness he was trying to restore," while privately welcoming a rescue "from economic chaos."

That would be the wise thing to do, said Douglas Schoen and Carly Cooperman in The Hill. Trump's tariffs have inflicted steep damage, whipsawing markets, dimming consumer confidence, and slowing economic growth. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development just downgraded its 2025 U.S. growth forecast to 1.6% from the 2.2% it projected in March, citing the impact of tariffs. And polls show Americans don't like the import taxes: 58% say they hurt the economy, and 74% say they boost prices. The president should take this "blessing in disguise" and shift course. And yet, "as happens so often, Trump may prove to be his own worst enemy."