The Court of International Trade, the body that hears constitutional challenges to federal trade policy, rejected an effort to overturn President Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on steel imports on Monday.
The American Institute for International Steel, a trade association, had sued the administration, arguing that the president exceeded his authority when he claimed last year that the tariff was justified under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which involves protecting “national security.” The court said Monday that it lacked the authority to second-guess the president’s decision.
“[I]dentifying the line between regulation of trade in furtherance of national security and an impermissible encroachment into the role of Congress could be elusive in some cases because judicial review would allow neither an inquiry into the president’s motives nor a review of his fact-finding,” a three-judge panel said.
A spokesman for the institute could not be reached for comment, but its website characterizes the lawsuit as “an ongoing legal battle that may well end up before the Supreme Court.”
A Commerce Department spokesman declined to comment.
