On August 29, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a previous verdict from the US Court of International Trade that US president Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal and that his use of emergency economic powers to stop the flow of drugs, such as fentanyl, into the country wasn’t justified.
The US administration had appealed the US Court of International Trade’s verdict, which FinanceAsia reported about earlier this year in May.
Trade tariffs in the US have traditionally been implemented by the US Congress.
However, in an opinion, the Court said that tariffs can remain in place until October 14 to allow the US administration time to appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court. This will add to yet more uncertainty to the global trade order over the next few months.
Several key members of the US administration, including the president, slammed the court’s verdict on social media, saying that the removal of the tariffs would be harmful to US interests at home and abroad.
The stakes are high for many countries around the world. Earlier this week the US introduced its 50% tariffs on imports from India, excluding electronics and pharmaceuticals. The rupee fell to a record low against the dollar on August 29 as economists warned of a potential $60 billion hit to trade, with items such as clothing, jewellery and gems to be impacted by the tariffs if exported to the US.
Meanwhile a so-caledd ‘de minimis’ tariff exemption on packages worth less than $800 has been removed by the Trump administration on August 29 causing postal offices around the world to suspend shipments US and small firms scrambling to find how best to approach the measure.