The U.S. Court of International Trade has ruled that President Trump’s sweeping tariffs, levied on nations including China, were unlawful, in a move that could significantly reshape the ongoing trade war and impact the price of technology. The court declared that all of President Trump’s measures are “invalid as contrary to law” because the emergency law used to pass them does not give the President unilateral authority to impose such sweeping measures.
In a ruling dated May 28, three judges concluded that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 “does not authorize any of the Worldwide, Retaliatory, or Trafficking Tariff Orders” considered by the court in the case. Specifically, they say the Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff orders imposed by Washington “exceed any authority granted to the President by the IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs.”
Regarding Trafficking Tariffs, the court says these fail “because they do not deal with the threats set forth in those orders.” Consequently, the court ordered that all the challenged Tariff Orders be vacated and their operation permanently enjoined.
The White House has already filed a notice of appeal, and such decisions can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, and of course, the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a statement reported by the BBC, the administration said, “It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency.” Continuing, White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai said, “President Trump pledged to put America First, and the Administration is committed to using every lever of executive power to address this crisis and restore American Greatness.”
Considering previous reports, tariffs could increase tech prices by up to 70%. Legal suspension of tariffs levied on countries, including China, could be an enormous relief to suppliers of hardware, including the semiconductor industry, as well as component parts, notably GPUs.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Nvidia has raised prices by 10-15% to combat rising manufacturing costs and tariffs, while TSMC recently called on Washington to drop tariffs on semiconductors made outside the U.S.. Responding to a U.S. Commerce Department’s call for public comments, the global silicon leader said “we respectfully request that the Administration avoids imposing tariffs or other restrictive measures on semiconductors made outside of the United States,” claiming tariffs raise the cost of endconsumer products and lower demand for such products and the components they contain.
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