It appears that some cabinet officials are forced to step in to make sure that President Donald Trump's orders are carried out, particularly in the area of international trade.
On Wednesday, a federal trade court prevented President Trump from using emergency powers legislation to impose massive tariffs on imports, as Breitbart News reported.
A three-judge panel at the Court of International Trade in New York issued the verdict following many complaints that claimed Trump had overstepped his bounds, made U.S. trade policy subject to his caprices, and caused economic anarchy.
“The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs,” the court wrote, referring to the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
While the White House didn't immediately offer word to journalists about the next steps, it's expected that the Trump administration will appeal
The taxes, which are central to Trump's trade policies, are the subject of at least seven lawsuits that contest them.
There is some involvement by Congress for tariffs, but Trump claims he can take action due to a national emergency with the nation's trade deficits. The markets were sent into a tailspin when he levied tariffs on the majority of nations with which the United States trades.
The plaintiffs contended that tariffs cannot be authorized by the emergency powers law and that, even if they could, the trade deficit does not constitute a "unusual and extraordinary threat" that would trigger the emergency.
For the past half-century, the United States has maintained a trade deficit relative to its global trading partners.
In an attempt to address the United States' large and persistent trade deficits, Trump levied tariffs on the majority of the world's countries.
To counter the influx of illegal immigration and synthetic narcotics into the United States, he had previously imposed tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China.
His government maintains that the courts upheld Nixon's emergency tariff usage in 1971 and that Congress, and not the courts, has the authority to decide on the "political" matter of whether or not the president's justification for announcing an emergency is lawful.
Trump imposed tariffs that rattled international financial markets and caused analysts to make dire predictions for economic growth in the United States. But thus far, it seems the biggest economy in the world seems unaffected by the tariffs thus far.
V.O.S. Selections, a wine importer whose owner has was vocal about concern that his company might not make it through the tariffs, is one of several small businesses that have joined forces to launch the complaint.
Oregon was the leading state among the twelve that brought suit. "This ruling reaffirms that our laws matter, and that trade decisions can't be made on the president's whim," Assistant Attorney General Dan Rayfield said.
