Court makes major decision about ‘immediate and irreparable harm’ from Trump tariffs
The U.S. Court of International Trade has ruled that small businesses have failed to prove the “immediate and irreparable harm” they fear from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The court declined to issue a temporary restraining order the businesses has sought, which would have prevented the president’s sweeping tariff program from taking effect.
A report from Fox Business explained it was “a win for the Trump administration.”
It was a three-judge panel at the court that said plaintiffs in the lawsuit “failed to show a likelihood that they would suffer ‘immediate and irreparable harm’ as a result of the tariffs,” which is the standard required for courts to issue a TROI.
The result is that the tariffs are being left in place while the dispute actually moves through the court system.
To that effect, the judges told both sides to provide information to the court by May.
“The lawsuit was brought earlier this month by the Texas-based Liberty Justice Center, on behalf of four small businesses in New York, Pennsylvania, Utah and Vermont,” the report said, noting those companies count on imported goods for their operations and profits.
The businesses wanted an immediate halt, and claimed the president’s decision based on the International Emergency Economic Powers was wrong.
They argued that the president’s claim to have the authority to make executive branch decisions was “extreme.”
“Any grant of such authority by Congress to the president should qualify as a major question subject to the strictest judicial scrutiny – which this claim of authority under IEEPA cannot survive,” they claimed in their filings.
The decision, the report said, is “a near-term victory for Trump.”
It’s one of a multitude of lawsuits that mostly leftist interests have filed against the Trump administration over his efforts to balance world trade. For years, Americans and American business have been charged premiums to get their products into foreign countries, while producers from those nations frequently are given an open door to access America’s markets and its consumers.