Canada, China praise court ruling striking down Trump’s tariffs

Global leaders and some trade stakeholders are reacting positively to a U.S. federal court ruling blocking many of the recent tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

The Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration overstepped its authority by using a 1977 federal economic emergency law to justify the tariffs. 

According to the court, the law does not specify tariffs as a tool available to the president to protect the U.S. from economic threats.

The ruling covers a wide range of fentanyl- and immigration-related tariffs, including 25% levies on goods from Canada and Mexico and 30% on China, as well as 10% reciprocal tariffs that had impacted nearly every major U.S. trading partner.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he welcomed the court’s decision.

“[The decision] is consistent with Canada’s long-standing position that the … tariffs were unlawful as well as unjustified,” Carney told Parliament on Thursday.

Chinese officials lauded the ruling and said the Trump administration should abandon the tariffs.

“China urges the U.S. to heed the rational voices of the international community and domestic parties and completely revoke the wrong approach of unilateral tariff hikes,” China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesperson, He Yongqian, said at a news conference on Thursday, according to Reuters.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her administration would delay directly commenting on the court’s ruling until more information becomes available.

“We learned about the resolution yesterday. Today, the Secretary of Economy will give us an analysis of this. We know that the United States government will file a counterclaim against the resolution, so we’ll see its scope,” Sheinbaum said during her daily news conference on Thursday.

CIT’s ruling on Trump’s tariffs stemmed from lawsuits filed by several small businesses — VOS Selections Inc., Plastic Services and Products LLC (Genova Pipe), MicroKits LLC, FishUSA Inc., and Terry Precision Cycling LLC — along with lawsuits by Democrat-led states: Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont.

The plaintiffs argued that the Trump administration exceeded its International Emergency Economic Powers Act authority, asserting that only Congress has exclusive power to regulate commerce and impose duties.

The administration immediately appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, with some experts predicting a Supreme Court review due to the case’s implications for presidential power.

The Liberty Justice Center, a nonpartisan organization that represented five owner-operated businesses in the case, also praised the ruling. 

“We’re delighted by the decision of the Court of International Trade enjoining the President’s so-called ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs,” Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel and director of litigation at the Liberty Justice Center, said in a news release. “This ruling reaffirms that the President must act within the bounds of the law, and it protects American businesses and consumers from the destabilizing effects of volatile, unilaterally imposed tariffs.”

Victor Schwartz, a plaintiff in the case and owner of New York-based wine importer VOS Selections Inc., also hailed the decision.

“I am elated by the ruling. This is a win for my small business along with small businesses across America — and the world for that matter,” Schwartz said in a statement. “We are aware of the appeal already filed and we firmly believe in our lawsuit and will see it all the way through to the United States Supreme Court.”

While the ruling voids many of the tariffs that triggered global retaliation and unsettled markets over the past several weeks, some import duties remain in place.

Tariffs still intact are the 25% duties on automotive, steel and aluminum imports.

Carney said those tariffs still pose a significant disruption to trade between the U.S. and Canada.

“We recognize that our trading relationship with the U.S. is still profoundly and adversely affected,” Carney said.

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