China urges US to scrap unilateral tariffs after supreme court ruling strikes them down

Following the US Supreme Court’s decision striking down most of Donald Trump’s far-reaching tariff measures, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Monday that China has consistently opposed any unilateral tariff increases, The Global Times reported.

Commenting on the decision, China’s MOFCOM spokesman said that the country has consistently opposed any unilateral tariff increases, that there are no winners in the trade war and that protectionism is going nowhere.

The spokesman added that unilateral measures taken by the United States, including reciprocal and fentanyl-related tariffs, not only violate international trade and economic rules, but also violate US domestic law and do not serve the interests of any party, The Global Times reported.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday against Trump’s signature trade policy, saying the U.S. President lacks the authority to impose sweeping import duties on goods from nearly all U.S. trading partners under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

In its decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA does not give the President the authority to impose tariffs.

The Nine-Judge Bench ruled 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing the majority opinion. Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.

“The IEEPA’s grant of authority to ‘regulate imports’ falls short. The IEEPA does not contain any reference to tariffs or duties. The Government does not point to any statute in which Congress has used the word ‘regulation’ to authorize taxation. And no President has ever read the IEEPA to grant such authority,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote in his opinion.

“We do not claim special authority in matters of the economy or foreign affairs. We claim only the limited role granted to us by Article III of the Constitution. In fulfilling this role, we hold that IEEPA does not give the President the authority to impose tariffs,” he added.

Emphasizing the benefits of cooperation, the spokesman noted that repeated experience has shown that cooperation between China and the United States benefits both sides, while conflict harms both sides, and called on Washington to cancel all unilateral tariffs imposed on trading partners.

“We noted that the United States is preparing to take alternative measures, such as trade investigations, to maintain tariffs on its trading partners. China will closely monitor these developments and strictly protect its legitimate rights and interests,” the spokesman said, as quoted by the Global Times. he said.

Earlier Saturday, Trump said he was increasing the 10 percent worldwide tariffs on countries announced in the wake of the Supreme Court decision to “the fully permissible and legally tested level of 15 percent.”

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that “in the coming short months” his Administration will identify and issue new, legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue the “remarkably successful process of Making America Great Again.”

Meanwhile, a White House official confirmed that Trump will visit China from March 31 to April 2.