As U.S. court blocks tariffs, here are ways Donald Trump could find a workaround after suffering a major blow

Even after the US Court of International Trade ordered the permanent stop of most of US president Donald Trump’s tariffs, he has other legal ways to work around to bring tariffs back in some form, as per a report.

Court Says Donald Trump Overstepped His Powers

The panel of three judges gave the verdict that Trump had "overstepped his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping tariffs on numerous countries," reported CNBC. As per the court's order, the White House had 10 days to complete the formal process of stopping the tariffs, according to the report.

Other Legal Tools Still Available to Trump

However, Goldman Sachs economists pointed out that the White House has a few tools that it can use to ensure the court ruling is only a temporary problem, reported CNBC. The economists wrote in a research note that, “This ruling represents a setback for the administration’s tariff plans and increases uncertainty but might not change the final outcome for most major US trading partners,” adding, “For now, we expect the Trump administration will find other ways to impose tariffs,” as quoted in the report.

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While, the Manhattan-based court's ruling blocks Trump's 10% baseline tariff, which was imposed on most of US trading partners, and even the additional duties on China, Canada and Mexico, but the ruling did not stop the sectoral levies, like those imposed on steel, aluminium and autos, according to CNBC.

Goldman Sachs highlighted the other techniques which the Trump administration can use, like Section 122 of US trade law, Section 301 investigations and Section 338 of the Trade Act of 1930, reported CNBC.

The bank said, “The administration could quickly replace the 10% across-the-board tariff with a similar tariff of up to 15% under Sec. 122,” but also mentioned that such a move would just last for up to 150 days, after which law requires Congressional action, as per the report.

Trump may also initiate probes into US trading partners by launching Section 301 investigations, which could lay the bureaucratic groundwork for tariffs, but this process would take several weeks, according to CNBC.

The Trump administration is already using Section 232 tariffs for steel, aluminium, and cars, as this law allows the president to act if imports are deemed as threats to national security, as per the report. Trump might attempt to broaden its application to include other industries, according to CNBC.

While Section 338 has never been used before, it would let Trump impose levies of up to 50% on imports from countries that discriminate against the United States, as per the report.

FAQs

Is this the end of the tariff drama?
Probably not. The court ruling slows things down, but it looks like Trump still has several options to keep pushing tariffs.

Why did the court block Trump’s tariffs?
The judges said Trump went too far by using emergency powers meant for national security to impose wide tariffs.