Now Reading: US court backs Trump’s power to end low-value import tariff exemption
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US court backs Trump’s power to end low-value import tariff exemption
US court backs Trump’s power to end low-value import tariff exemption
The U.S. Court of International Trade on Thursday upheld Donald Trump’s authority to end the 'de minimis' tariff exemption for low-value imports from China, Mexico and Canada. The court ruled that the…
The Story in Brief
The U.S. Court of International Trade on Thursday upheld Donald Trump’s authority to end the 'de minimis' tariff exemption for low-value imports from China, Mexico and Canada. The court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act allowed him to rescind the trade privilege, a rare legal win for Trump’s tariff agenda. Trump called the ruling a 'big win' on Truth Social, saying the exemption had been 'a giant loophole for tariff cheats.'
The case was brought by Michigan-based auto parts importer Detroit Axle, which had adapted its business to use the exemption. Congress had already closed the exemption through an omnibus bill, but kept it in place until July 2027. The Supreme Court earlier this year struck down Trump’s broader February 2025 tariffs, but did not address the de minimis rule.
The Indian Opinion
A judge has handed Trump a win, but the narrative that American courts are rubber-stamping his tariff agenda is false. The same trade court and the Supreme Court have struck down his broadest tariffs under the same emergency powers law. The ruling here turned on a narrow question: whether closing an exemption counts as imposing a new tax. Detroit Axle argues it does not. The next legal test, whether Trump's third tariff authority survives challenge by U.S. states, will tell us if this win was an exception or a turning point.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
