Trump tariffs ruled illegal within minutes of Musk announcing end of government role
- Reference: 1748485820
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/05/29/trump_tariffs_trumped/
- Source link:
The policy was introduced on April 2nd, after the administration [1]declared an emergency on grounds that the practices of America’s trading partners “constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States.” The Executive Order that enacted the tariffs cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) as giving the president authority to do so.
Several cases challenged that interpretation. One of the lawsuits, V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump , was brought by the Liberty Justice Center, which [2]describes itself as using “strategic, precedent-setting litigation to revitalize constitutional restraints on government power.” A dozen US States brought another.
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The Court’s [4]judgement [PDF] concludes that IEEPA doesn’t confer the power to introduce tariffs and says the US Constitution is clear that’s a job for Congress.
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Stephen Miller, the Trump administration’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor has [7]described the ruling as a “judicial coup”. An administration spokesperson has [8]reportedly issued a statement that reads: “It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency.
Whatever the legal niceties, the ruling means more uncertainty for hardware companies that sell in the US as they are nearly always reliant on systems and components made offshore. It also means the Trump administration’s plans to do things like [9]tariff Apple iPhones now look harder to implement.
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Another problem for the administration is the loss of a star employee: Elon Musk, who masterminded cost-cutting unit the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
[11]Arm says it isn’t worried by tariffs, but won't give guidance for FY'26
[12]US, China agree to roll back tariffs – but only for 90 days
[13]Citrix finds new use for virtualization: Avoiding PC price hikes caused by tariffs
[14]Red, white, and blew it? Trump tariffs may cost America the AI race
Musk on Wednesday [15]used his own social network, X, to note that his status as a “Special Government Employee” – which allows 130 days of work – will end in coming days.
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” he wrote, before adding “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
That latter sentiment is at odds with sentiments he expressed in a [16]preview of an interview to appear on US network CBS this coming Sunday, in which Musk expressed disappointment with a budget bill that recently passed the US House of Representatives because it “increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
Musk has previously said he will spend less time on political matters so he can pay more attention to X and Tesla, the businesses he leads. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/02/us_tariffs_liberation_day_announcement/
[2] https://libertyjusticecenter.org/about/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aDfbyPzqMKv2VkZm9X2cswAAAc8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/05/29/supplied_itc_tariffs_judgement.pdf
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aDfbyPzqMKv2VkZm9X2cswAAAc8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aDfbyPzqMKv2VkZm9X2cswAAAc8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://x.com/StephenM/status/1927874604531409314
[8] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-29/donald-trump-trade-tariffs-block-us-court/105351386
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/26/us_apple_eu_tariffs/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aDfbyPzqMKv2VkZm9X2cswAAAc8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/08/arm_no_fy26_guidance/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/12/us_china_import_tariff_pause/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/07/citrix_virtualisation_avoids_tariffs/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/01/abi_trump_tariffs_datacenter/
[15] https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1927877957852266518
[16] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-disappointed-by-trump-big-beautiful-bill-doge/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Its a bit of a mess, bit was avoidable
You don't have to be a Nobel laureate in Economics to know that trade policy can't be turned on and off like a light switch. Sure, you can impose tariffs, assuming you have the legal authority to do so, but its not going to alter fundamental trade patterns, merely gum them up. This might force weaker parties to your will but if you overdo it -- or, worse, try it on with not so weak parties -- you're likely to suffer significant blowback. Its the same with other economic measures. We've had numerous examples of how US trying to impose policy on the world just leads to it being ostracized, the obvious example being our policies towards encryption where the general rule for international standards is now "Anything except American". We've just started to notice that semiconductor technology which we thought we could control has effectively escaped, our once mighty weapon being just smoke and mirrors. Now we're trying secondary and tertiary sanction threats which is quite likely to do irrepairable harm to our currency (already shaky because DOGE or no DOGE we just can't shake off deficits -- like the UK we have to balance the books on the backs of the weakest and poorest of society and they really don't have enough to give any more, we've got to start sharing the pie more equitably).
Its rampant incompetence. Fortunately we're a federal country. We really don't need the Federal government and its really not as powerful as it thinks it is. Like most systems everything hangs together because its mutually advantageous, not because of threats.
Stephen Miller either doesn't understand the Constitution or is willfully ignoring it. Not sure which is worse.