The U.S. Department of Justice on May 8 filed an appeal of the U.S. Court of International Trade’s decision striking down President Donald Trump’s global tariffs.
In the document, department officials did not explain their reasons for appealing.
Trump blamed the trade court ruling on “two radical left judges” in comments to reporters.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox Business Network that he expects the trade court’s decision will be reversed.
“They essentially said that Congress passed a law that can’t be used, which we all know in the legal community, that’s not how law should be interpreted,” he said.
The trade court judges voting in the majority “are apparently hell-bent on importing from China.”
In his February order imposing the tariffs, Trump relied on Section 122 of the Trade Act, which permits duties to be imposed for as many as 150 days to remedy serious “balance of payments deficits” or combat an imminent depreciation of the U.S. dollar.
The federal government had argued that there was a significant balance-of-payments deficit in the form of a $1.2 trillion annual U.S. goods trade deficit, along with a current account deficit of 4 percent of the gross domestic product.
The trade court’s majority held that Trump had gone beyond what the statute allowed. It found that the tariffs were “invalid” and “unauthorized by law.”
The majority found that Section 122 was not intended to remedy trade deficits that take place when U.S. imports exceed exports.
In addition to finding the tariffs were unlawful, the court issued a permanent injunction preventing the government from collecting the duties from Washington state and two companies that brought suit over the policy.
Although more than 20 states sued, the court found all but Washington lacked standing, or a close enough connection to the controversy, to justify participating in the case. The court ruled two businesses, toy company Basic Fun, and spice importer Burlap and Barrel, had standing.
Other companies may sue to seek relief from the tariffs, citing the trade court’s ruling in the case.
Mike Faulk, a spokesman for Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, told The Epoch Times, “We look forward to responding” to the appeal filing.
The Epoch Times reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice for comment. No reply was received by publication time.