Court challenges tariffs
A federal court is hearing a multi‑state challenge to President Trump’s 10% global tariffs, putting the administration’s legal authority on trial. Oregon is leading the suit and judges in the U.S. trade court have already questioned the legal basis for the measures, a development that raises fresh policy uncertainty for firms and supply chains. (opb.org, businesstimes.com.sg)
A federal trade court is weighing whether President Donald Trump had the legal power to impose a new 10 percent tariff on most imports in February. (businesstimes.com.sg) A three-judge panel at the United States Court of International Trade heard arguments on Friday, April 10, in New York. The challengers are 24 mostly Democratic-led states and two small businesses, with Oregon leading the states’ case. (businesstimes.com.sg) The tariffs took effect on February 24 after Trump invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law that lets presidents act during a declared national emergency. His administration said the country’s longstanding trade deficit justified the move. (opb.org) The legal fight comes after the Supreme Court struck down an earlier round of Trump’s sweeping global tariffs on February 20, 2026. That ruling rejected his use of the same emergency-powers law for broad import taxes on nearly every country. (opb.org) The new case turns on a narrow question with broad reach: whether a trade deficit counts as the kind of “unusual and extraordinary threat” required under the emergency law. During Friday’s hearing, judges pressed government lawyers on that point. (businesstimes.com.sg) Oregon’s lawsuit says the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to impose and collect taxes. The state also says the White House has changed tariff policy through executive orders, memoranda, social media posts and agency actions. (opb.org) The administration argues that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act gives the president room to use tariffs as a foreign-policy tool. Solicitor General John Sauer made that argument in the earlier Supreme Court case over the first round of tariffs. (opb.org) For companies that import parts, finished goods or raw materials, the case leaves the 10 percent tariff in place while the court decides whether it can stand. Oregon media outlets reported businesses are still in limbo after the February Supreme Court ruling and the administration’s replacement tariff order. (opb.org) The hearing lasted more than three hours, and no ruling came from the bench on Friday. The next step is a written decision from the trade court, which could again send the fight toward the Supreme Court. (oregonlive.com)
