Another setback for Donald Trump: an American court ruled on Thursday that the temporary 10% tariffs imposed in February by the American president to replace the general surtaxes that had been invalidated by the Supreme Court were illegal.
According to the International Trade Court (CIT), the US government cannot rely on a 1974 law aimed at balancing trade between the United States and its trading partners to impose indiscriminate tariffs.
Video: Customs duties: Trump furious after Supreme Court decision
In a statement, the Center for Freedom and Justice (LJC), which had filed the lawsuit on behalf of several companies, welcomed the decision. According to Jeffrey Schwab, one of the main lawyers for the LJC, the 1974 law was enacted to respond to “a specific historical crisis during which gold and currency reserves had been depleted.”
“The United States has a trade deficit, not a deficit in the balance of current accounts, nor international payment problems. The president cannot impose these tariffs,” he added in a statement.
New setback for Trump
This is a new setback for the American president who has placed customs duties at the heart of his policy since his return to the White House in early 2025 and has threatened to impose new ones. According to Thursday’s ruling, decided by two judges against one, the 10% surcharge does not comply with the law. Consequently, the three companies that had brought the case to court should no longer be subject to such an additional cost.
The court also orders the US government to reimburse them, with interest, for the unfairly collected tariffs over the past two months. While the judgment, subject to appeal, currently only applies to these three plaintiffs, it sets a legal precedent allowing other companies to also challenge the surtaxes.
At the end of February, the US Supreme Court had struck down a large part of the tariffs wanted by the American president, ruling that he had made an unconstitutional interpretation of a law to justify them. Donald Trump had also faced this new 10% surcharge. But the 1974 law only applies in cases where a marked imbalance in the balance of current accounts is demonstrated.
“Americans are paying the price”
The balance of current accounts includes all financial movements between two countries, including trade exchanges but also financial flows or cross-border investments, notably. However, this 1974 law only provides for a maximum duration of six months for tariffs, which can only be extended once the Congress has pronounced on it.
In addition to these companies, around twenty US states, including New York, California, and Pennsylvania, had announced in early March that they were filing a lawsuit against these temporary 10% tariffs. They also accuse Donald Trump of not respecting the conditions set out in the 1974 law, which they believe makes its implementation illegal.
“Trump continues to implement illegal and irresponsible policies in the hope that it will hold, but it is the Americans who pay the price daily,” denounced California Governor Gavin Newsom in a statement.
