The Supreme Court declined to hear a legal challenge to Trump’s tariffs on imported steel products Monday, allowing both the lower court’s decision in favor of the administration and the tariffs to stand.
The court rejected a petition by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS), a pro-free trade group which represents the interests of steel importers and users of such products. The petition was in response to Trump’s March 2018 imposition of 25% tariffs on imported steel as well as 10% tariffs on imported aluminum. The tariff includes exceptions in multiple countries, including Mexico and Canada.
AIIS argued that the provision Trump invoked to implement the changes — Section 232 of the 1963 Trade Expansion Act — is invalid. The group contended that the provision invoked gives presidents too much decision-making power, according to a Bloomberg report. (RELATED: US Steel Prices Dip Below Pre-Tariff Level)
“Section 232 is astonishing in the breadth of discretion, both in the finding that triggers its application and in the completely unbounded choice of remedies afforded the president, including the amount of any tariffs or quotas,” AIIS reportedly argued.
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The Trump administration has argued that Section 232 gives the president appropriate power.
“[Section 232] sets forth both the policy the president must pursue and the boundaries of his authority,” U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco argued, according to Bloomberg. “[It] empowers the president to exercise discretion in fields (foreign affairs and foreign trade) that are already within the scope of executive power.”
This is reportedly the second time the justices of the Supreme Court have rejected a legal challenge by the AIIS regarding Trump’s tariffs.