Defending tariffs, Trump team said adverse ruling would risk India-Pak ceasefire
NEW DELHI, MAY 29 : The Donald Trump administration, while defending the use of powers to impose sweeping tariffs, told a US court that an adverse ruling would jeopardise the ceasefire brokered by the President between nuclear powers India and Pakistan. The submission, made last week, failed to convince the Court of International Trade, which blocked Trump’s tariffs from going into effect.
In his submission to the court, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick reiterated Trump’s claim that a “tenuous” ceasefire was reached between India and Pakistan after the US President interceded and offered both nations trading access to avert a full-scale war.
“An adverse ruling by this court that constrains the President’s powers could lead India and Pakistan to question the validity of Trump’s offer, threatening the security of an entire region and the lives of millions,” Lutnick said in his submission before the court on May 23.
STORIES YOU MAY LIKE
Actor Tamannaah reacts to liking meme supporting Deepika Padukone over Vanga row
Jennifer Winget, Karan Singh Grover to reunite after 11 years on KJo’s show: Report
Did Vijay Deverakonda click Rashmika Mandanna’s saree pics? Fans think so
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he mediated the ceasefire between India and Pakistan and the threat of cutting off trade forced the countries to stop the hostilities. However, India has rejected his claims, saying the ceasefire was forged through “direct contact”.
Besides the ceasefire argument, the US Commerce Secretary said the tariffs applied “additional pressure” on China – the greatest contributor to the national emergency and a well-known strategic adversary – to the negotiating table.
Earlier this month, the US and China reached an agreement to slash the sky-high tariffs for 90 days. While the US tariffs on Chinese imports reached up to 145%, levies on US products reaching China were 125%.
Trump had unveiled sweeping reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries, including India, on April 2 (Liberation Day) before pausing them just one week later.
In court, the Trump administration argued that the move spurred scores of countries to immediately reach out to the US.
“Foreign trading partners that have run trade deficits in goods for years and helped hollow out the American manufacturing base immediately came to the negotiating table,” Lutnick said.
“Countries that approached the administration without retaliating received the benefit of a pause designed to allow for substantive negotiations to remedy the national emergency,” he further said.
However, the court dismissed the arguments, saying the President “overstepped his authority” by imposing across-the-board tariffs on imports from US trading partners.
The court ruled that the Constitution gave the Congress exclusive powers to regulate commerce with other nations it cannot be superseded by the President.
-PTI
