The US International Court of Commerce sided with small businesses that filed lawsuits against this tax rate, which took effect from February 24. The ruling was passed at a ratio of 2-1, in which a judge said it was too early to declare winning the lawsuit for the plaintiff, which are small businesses.
Businesses argue that the new tax rate is an effort to circumvent a landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court, which rejected the 2025 taxes imposed by President Trump under the International Early Economic Enforcement Act (IEEPA).
In the executive order issued in February, President Donald Trump cited Article 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. This provision allows imposing tariffs for up to 150 days to adjust the serious "payment balance deficit" or prevent the risk of a sharp depreciation of the USD.
However, the court ruling on May 7 stated that the 1970s trade law was inappropriate to deal with the forms of trade deficits that Mr. Trump mentioned in the February executive order.
In another development, Mr. Trump also announced that he would allow the European Union (EU) until July 4 to fulfill its commitments in the trade agreement before the US raises tariffs on EU goods, including cars, to a "much higher level".
In a post on the social network Truth Social, Mr. Trump said he gave this new deadline after a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The two leaders also agreed that Iran should never possess nuclear weapons.
Last week, Mr. Trump announced that he would raise taxes on cars from the EU to 25%, instead of the previously agreed 15% level, citing that the EU did not comply with the terms of the agreement reached in Scotland in July last year.
According to this agreement, the EU will reduce tariffs on US industrial goods to 0%, and apply duty-free quotas to some US agricultural and seafood products. However, the process of passing law enforcement in the European Parliament is slow.
