US court makes bombshell ruling on Donald Trump's tariffs as he responds to claim he's 'chickening out'
Topics: Donald Trump, Tariffs, US News, Politics
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI
Topics: Donald Trump, Tariffs, US News, Politics
The US court has made a surprising ruling on Donald Trump's tariffs after the president responded to claims he's 'chickening out'.
Ever since the 47th POTUS retuned to the White House in January, he has introduced an awful lot of tariffs.
Such actions has led to a trade war across the world, with the likes of China and the European Union being hit with sanctions.
While Trump has announced these policies, the president has found it tricky getting some of them passed through the courts - but that hasn't stopped the Republican leader from continuing to implement his ideas.
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Trump branded April 2 as 'Liberation Day' for the US as he unveiled a series of tariffs affecting countries across the globe.
But in recent hours, The Manhattan-based Court of International Trade has ruled the tariffs cannot go ahead as Trump does not have the authority to impose tariffs on nearly every country across the globe.
The court states the president overstepped his authority by using a 1977 federal economic emergency law, as it doesn't state tariffs as a tool available for the president to protect the US from economic threats.
The US Court of International Trade ruled the rule 'does not authorise' Trump to impose the tariffs.
Trump's administration has since responded by saying they plan to appeal the ruling.
White House deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai said in a statement: "It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency.
"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."
Many have pointed out Trump's tendency to introduce high tariffs on countries before lowering them, which has led to an acronym of 'TACO' said by The Financial Times’ Robert Armstrong, which stands for 'Trump Always Chickens Out'.
Trump was asked by a reporter on Wednesday (May 28) about the phrase, leading to the president looking visibly offended and dubbing the journalist's statement as 'nasty'.
The president said: "You call that chickening out? It’s called negotiation. [I set] ridiculous high number and I go down a little bit, you know, a little bit.
"Don’t ever say what you said. To me, that’s the nastiest question."
The Democrats have been quick to provide their reaction to the ruling, with Ron Wyden, the senator from Oregon, saying: "I argued from the start that Donald Trump’s claim that he could simply decree sky-high new taxes on imported goods depended on mangling the Constitution beyond recognition."