General
A Trade Court Rebuke of Trump’s Tariffs Offers Little Relief to Canada
This week’s ruling blocking many of the president’s tariffs will not lift those on Canadian cars, steel and aluminum. A trade expert explains what’s next.
For a fleeting moment, it looked as if Canada’s trade troubles were over. The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled on Wednesday that President Trump did not have “unbounded authority” to impose many of his tariffs, including some against Canada.
The U.S. tariff on Canadian auto parts, which was already temporarily suspended, was not affected by the trade court’s ruling.Credit…Ian Austen/The New York Times
In another blow to Mr. Trump, it ordered an immediate end to collection of the tariffs.
[Read: Trump Tariffs Ruled Illegal by Federal Judicial Panel]
But then came the sobering, not-so-fine print.
The case focused on the Trump administration’s use of theInternational Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs, which for Canada is based on the false claim that large amounts of fentanyl cross the border from Canada to the United States. So the ruling affected the sweeping tariffs against Canadian exports that were imposed under that law, but it did not affect Mr. Trump’s 25 percent duties on Canadian cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum, which were imposed using other laws. (The auto parts tariff had previously been suspended.)
And products from Canada that meet minimum North American content levels under the currently tattered free trade agreement among Canada, the United States and Mexico were already exempt.
Still, Prime Minister Mark Carney told the House of Commons that he welcomed the decision. But he added, “We recognize that our trading relationship with the U.S. is still profoundly and adversely affected.”
