Free Republic

There is no other way to say it: liberal judges are waging unrestricted lawfare against President Trump. First, they protected illegal immigrants from deportation—literally sheltering criminals from justice. Now, they’re protecting foreign governments and multinational corporations from President Trump’s tariffs. Case in point: yesterday, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled the tariffs were illegal. Today, a second court followed suit. This is not surprising. Wall Street is engaging in total warfare against President Trump. Why? Because Wall Street profits tremendously from the trade deficit—to the tune of over $1.2 trillion per year. If President Trump is successful, this gravy...

In a ruling heard ’round the world, the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday blocked President Trump’s sweeping tariffs. This is an important moment for the rule of law as much as for the economy, proving again that America doesn’t have a king who can rule by decree. The Trump tariffs have created enormous costs and uncertainty, but now we know they’re illegal. As the three-judge panel explains in its detailed 52-page ruling, the President exceeded his emergency powers and bypassed discrete tariff authorities delegated to him by Congress. The ruling erases his April 2 tariffs as well as...

We're getting a bit of federal court whiplash Thursday on the tariff front. As RedState reported Wednesday evening, in a pair of cases, the Court of International Trade (CIT) held that the Trump administration's actions on tariffs, invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), exceeded the president's authority under the statute and thus violated the separation of powers set forth by the Constitution. The ink had barely dried on that decision before the administration appealed it to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Now, that court has pressed pause on the lower court ruling. In a per curiam order...

Two courts ruled against the tariff policy enacted by President Donald J. Trump. On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Trump’s tariff policy was unlawful, blocking a central tenet of the president’s agenda on the economy and trade. The Liberation Day reciprocal tariffs led to scores of nations lining up to renegotiate their deals. We’ve already inked our new one with the United Kingdom. D.C. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras also ruled earlier today that the tariff policy was illegal, though he stayed his decision for 14 days to allow for the appeals process. Yet, before the...

Laura Loomer @LauraLoomer 🚨 EXCLUSIVE 🚨 Spouse of Judge Who Issued Ruling Against Trump Tariffs Has International Corporate Ties That Benefit From Ruling, Raising Concerns Over Judicial Corruption and Conflicts of Interest Cc: @realDonaldTrump @JDVance @BorisEP @elonmusk @AGPamBondi @StephenM In a controversial ruling yesterday, Judge Timothy Reif of the U.S. Court of International Trade (USCIT) was one of the three judges on a panel who struck down tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, igniting a firestorm of criticism over judicial overreach. However, the most damning aspect of the ruling went completely unnoticed by the media. Loomered Strategies @LoomeredStrat has exclusively...

We have been frequent critics of Donald Trump’s tariffs, but we understand that there is a case to be made for reconsidering some of our trade policies. The place to make that case is Congress — not by unilateral presidential declaration of open-ended worldwide “emergencies.” The Founders rebelled against taxation without representation; they did not mean for the executive to control the duties on all imports by daily whim. It is Congress that was granted power by the Constitution to “lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises” and to “regulate Commerce with foreign Nations,” and for good reason. It...

A federal appeals court on Thursday granted the Trump administration’s request to temporarily pause a lower-court ruling that struck down most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The fix appears to be in for two court cases against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, according to a very knowledgeable source. Last month, five domestic businesses filed a lawsuit in a little known trade court in New York challenging Trump’s tariffs, arguing they have to rely on imported goods that are not reasonably available to them in the U.S. In his April 2 executive order imposing a set of reciprocal tariffs, Trump declared a national emergency, calling trade deficits a threat to the nation’s national security and economy. Trump’s tariffs are central to his economic agenda and designed to reduce...

Key Points A U.S. trade court ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority by invoking an emergency law to impose sweeping tariffs on nearly every country. Economists at Goldman Sachs said the White House likely has a few tools at its disposal to ensure it is only a temporary problem. Lawyer James Ransdell said the ruling marks the first in many cases still pending — and is the first opinion “to really address the meat of the plaintiffs challenge.” ================================================================= U.S. President Donald Trump could still find a workaround after suffering a major blow to a core part of his...

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “The Last Word” that a federal court’s decision to halt President Donald Trump’s tariffs showed he was not a “king.” Host Lawrence O’Donnell said, “I know this is a big a big night for Minnesota with Canada as your your biggest trading partner next door. You were up in Canada last week. You have a whole new discussion now to be had with Canada. None of Donald Trump’s tariffs apply anymore.” Klobuchar said, “We do and I will say, number one, you and I have been nerding out on this over and...

Why did the court strike down some tariffs? The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that President Trump didn’t have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, or IEEPA. What tariffs are covered by the ruling? The ruling voids many of the Trump's administration’s moves on trade. That includes fentanyl-related tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, and the reciprocal tariffs—some of which were already on hold—that affect virtually every U.S. trading partner. What tariffs aren’t affected? Those that weren't justified under IEEPA. For instance, levies on autos, steel and aluminum aren't covered....

A federal court on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law, swiftly throwing into doubt Trump’s signature set of economic policies that have rattled global financial markets, frustrated trade partners and raised broader fears about inflation intensifying and the economy slumping. The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade came after several lawsuits arguing Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs exceeded his authority and left the country’s trade policy dependent on his whims. But for now, Trump might not have the threat of import taxes to exact...

A federal court has determined that President Donald Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally impose tariffs, dealing a sweeping blow to the president's main weapon in his ongoing global trade war. A panel of judges on the U.S. Court of International Trade found the tariffs were unlawful and permanently vacated them.

Donald Trump said Sunday that he had a “very nice call” with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and he has agreed to delay his threatened 50 percent tariff until July 9 at her request. The EU wants to negotiate, Trump said:That agreement came after a call Sunday with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, who had told Trump that she "wants to get down to serious negotiations," according to the U.S. president's retelling."I told anybody that would listen, they have to do that," Trump told reporters on Sunday in Morristown, New Jersey, as he...

The European Union's trade chief said the 27-member bloc is committed to securing a trade deal with the US based on "respect" not "threats". It comes after US President Donald Trump threatened to slap a 50% tariff on all goods sent to the US from the EU. "The EU's fully engaged, committed to securing a deal that works for both," EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said after a call with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. "EU-US trade is unmatched & must be guided by mutual respect, not threats. We stand ready to defend our interests."...

Bernard Arnault, the head of luxury giant LVMH, has strongly criticised the European Union for its slow and shaky start in trade talks with the United States. Speaking at a French parliamentary hearing, Arnault said the EU’s handling of negotiations aimed at reducing US tariffs had begun badly. He warned that delays and weak strategy could hurt major European industries, especially luxury goods. LVMH, the company Arnault leads, owns famous brands such as Louis Vuitton and Hennessy. The United States is LVMH’s biggest market. That’s why Arnault is deeply concerned about the 20% “reciprocal” tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump...

While tariffs make wars more likely, embargoes make wars difficult to avoid. Senator Lindsey Graham’s Sanctioning Russia Act calls for 500% tariffs on dozens of countries and essentially amounts to an embargo.If this bill were to pass, it would cause an economic calamity on a scale never before seen in our country.In its insistence that Moscow be a permanent enemy of the United States, the foreign policy establishment is pushing to impose more punitive measures on Russia should they refuse to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine. The Sanctioning Russia Act seeks to inflict a series of additional sanctions and...

As part of a flurry of posts on Truth Social on Friday morning, Donald Trump is now proposing slamming the European Union (EU) with a massive new tariff because of the "unacceptable" trade imbalance the U.S. has rung up. Moments after threatening Apple and executive Tim Cook with a 25 percent tariff unless iPhones are made in the U.S., the president moved on to another threat certain to roil the stock market. On Truth Social he wrote: "The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult...

“ There are no solutions, there are only tradeoffs,” says the venerable Thomas Sowell, but “you try to get the best tradeoffs you can get, and that’s all you can hope for.” Reasonably understood, Trump’s tariff agenda has always represented a tradeoff for Americans. Despite an awful lot of misunderstanding of how tariffs function in both theory and practice that has proliferated in recent months, tariffs are not a solution that will magically increase wages for American workers or reshore American manufacturing without considerable costs, and most certainly, the tariffs were never going to be paid by the nations who...

Nine out of 10 U.S. companies say they expect to bring some or all of their production or sourcing back home in response to new tariffs imposed under President Donald Trump’s trade policy, according to the latest Allianz Trade Global Survey.The survey, published on May 20, hints at an acceleration in reshoring efforts as U.S. firms adapt to the tariffs, as Trump pursues a global trade reset to boost domestic manufacturing and correct what he says are decades of unfair practices by other countries that put the United States at a disadvantage.Allianz researchers found that roughly 90 percent of U.S....