Bloomberg 05.13.2025
Bloomberg: Trump’s Global Tariffs Face Key Test in US Trade Court
Bloomberg – Trump’s Global Tariffs Face Key Test in US Trade Court – PDF
“At the center of the fight is Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify the sweeping tariffs. The law grants the president authority over a variety of financial transactions during certain emergencies, typically with sanctions. Trump said he could impose tariffs under that law because the nation’s “large and persistent” annual trade deficits constituted “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security and the economy.
The suit alleges Trump is misusing the law. The small businesses argue the US trade deficit “is neither an emergency nor an unusual or extraordinary threat.” Even if it were, the group says, the emergency law doesn’t allow a president to impose across-the-board tariffs.” – Erik Larson, Sabrina Willmer, and Bob Van Voris