US Trade Court blocks Trump tariffs

The federal trade court on Wednesday sided with Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, blocking President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs based on a series of emergency declarations.

Rayfield’s office is leading a 12-state lawsuit that argues the president exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by declaring an emergency to justify new tariffs.

A three-justice panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York City agreed with that argument, writing in a 49-page ruling on Wednesday that the “court does not read IEEPA to confer such unbounded authority” to “impose unlimited tariffs on goods from nearly every country in the world.”

The ruling also addressed a similar lawsuit brought by several businesses.

Trump had invoked the act by saying trade deficits and the “hollowing out” of U.S. manufacturing posed a national emergency.

The proposed tariffs had been expected to hit Oregon’s trade-dependent economy particularly hard, including its signature footwear and apparel industry, which makes most of its products in Asian nations that would have been subject to steep new import charges. Small businesses feared the the tariffs would cut deeply into their profits, perhaps posing an existential threat.

“The court’s ruling is a victory not just for Oregon, but for working families, small businesses, and everyday Americans,” Rayfield said in a press release. “President Trump’s sweeping tariffs were unlawful, reckless, and economically devastating. They triggered retaliatory measures, inflated prices on essential goods, and placed an unfair burden on American families, small businesses and manufacturers.”

The ruling applies to most of Trump’s tariffs, including his “Liberation Day” tariffs on numerous countries and tariffs related to fentanyl trafficking.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai told The Associated Press after Wednesday’s ruling that that trade deficits are a national emergency “that has decimated American communities, left our workers behind, and weakened our defense industrial base — facts that the court did not dispute."

At least seven lawsuits had challenged the tariffs, which are the focus of Trump’s trade policy.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, is among those who have denounced the tariffs. Wyden said in a press release Wednesday that the tariff policy “depended on mangling the Constitution beyond recognition.”

“I’m gratified that the Court of International Trade agreed with me, AG Rayfield and my colleagues that these sweeping tariffs are illegal,” he said. “I have no doubt the legal wrangling will continue, but I’m committed to retaking Congress’s authority over trade for good and shutting down Trump’s ability to unilaterally declare trade war with the world.”

At a hearing last week, Brett Shumate, a U.S. Department of Justice lawyer, asked that any ruling against the tariffs should be stayed, or paused, so the U.S. solicitor general could seek emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court.

A notice of appeal has already been filed.

– Matthew Kish covers business, including the sportswear and banking industries. Reach him at 503-221-4386, [email protected] or @matthewkish.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.