White House accuses US court blocking Trump tariffs of ‘judicial overreach’

The White House on Thursday slammed a trade court for blocking US President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs, calling the ruling “judicial overreach” and urging the Supreme Court to intervene.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that trade negotiations were continuing with “countries around the world” despite the ruling by the Court of International Trade late Wednesday.

Leavitt said later that Trump had a “very good call” with the “leader of Japan” without stating what was discussed, and did not name any other countries.

“Last night, the Trump administration faced another example of judicial overreach,” she said.

Trump, Leavitt argued, had used his “full and proper legal authority” in ordering the “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2 to “address the extraordinary threat to our national security and economy posed by large and persistent annual US goods trade deficits”.

“America cannot function if President Trump, or any other president for that matter, has their sensitive diplomatic or trade negotiations railroaded by activist judges,” the press secretary said.