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US appeals court finds Trump tariffs illegal

He said he would fight back “with the help of the Supreme Court”. The decision marks a blow to the president, who has wielded duties as an economic policy tool. It could also cast doubt over deals Trump has struck with major trading partners such as the European Union, and raised the question of what would happen to the billions of dollars collected by the United States since the tariffs were put in place if the conservative-majority Supreme Court does not back him. However, Friday’s case does not deal with sector-specific tariffs that the Trump administration has also imposed on steel, aluminum, cars and other imports. Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose “reciprocal” tariffs on almost all US trading partners, with a 10% baseline level and higher rates for dozens of economies. He has invoked similar authorities to

slap separate tariffs hitting Mexico, Canada and China over the flow of deadly drugs into the United States. The Court of International Trade had ruled in May that Trump overstepped his authority with global levies, blocking most of the duties from taking effect, but the appeals court later put the ruling on hold to consider the case. Friday’s ruling noted that “the statute bestows significant authority on the president to undertake a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency, but none of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties or the like, or the power to tax.” It added that it was not addressing if Trump’s actions should have been taken as a matter of policy or deciding whether IEEPA authorises any tariffs at all. Instead, it sought to resolve the question of whether Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs and those imposed over trafficking were authorised, with the document noting: “We conclude they are not.” – AFP

WASHINGTON: A US appeals court on Friday ruled that many of President Donald Trump’s tariffs were illegal – but allowed them to remain in place for now, giving him time to take the fight to the Supreme Court. The 7-4 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court’s finding that Trump had exceeded his authority in tapping emergency economic powers to impose wide-ranging duties. But the judges allowed the tariffs to stay in place through mid-October and Trump swiftly made clear he would put the time to use. The appeals court “incorrectly said that our tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end”, he said in a statement on his Truth Social platform lashing out at the ruling. Decision upholds findings president exceeded power Bolivian opposition leader freed after three years in jail SANTA CRUZ: Bolivian opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho took back control of the eastern department of Santa Cruz on Friday, hours after being released from jail following nearly three years in detention on terrorism charges. The 46-year-old conservative lawyer and businessman was arrested in December 2022 over his alleged role in the ouster of leftist president Evo Morales in 2019. Morales stepped down after losing the support of the military amid strikes and protests in response to his disputed election to a fourth term. Camacho led violent protests over Morales’ re-election claim. His detention in 2022 on charges of fomenting a coup sparked countrywide protests, with many Bolivians dismissing the alleged coup as fictitious. “It has been an honour to be imprisoned for almost three years, for the struggle of my people and for democracy,” he told a rally in Santa Cruz, on his arrival home from a maximum security prison near La Paz.

‘Speaking truth to power’ VENICE: Cover-Up , a documentary chronicling the career of investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Friday, offering a portrait of a reporter whose work has exposed some of America’s darkest secrets. Directed by Oscar-winner Laura Poitras and longtime collaborator Mark Obenhaus, the film traces Hersh’s rise from helping out at his family’s dry cleaning business to breaking news that repeatedly shook the establishment. “My work tends to follow troublemakers, people who speak truth to power, like Sy (Hersh),” said Poitras, who won the coveted Golden Lion award at Venice in 2022 for her documentary about activist photographer Nan Goldin. Hersh made his name internationally for breaking news in 1969 about the massacre of Vietnamese villagers by US troops in the hamlet of My Lai, which was credited with helping end the Vietnam War. He also wrote critically acclaimed books on the 1983 Soviet downing of a South Korean passenger jet, Israel’s nuclear arms programme, and abuses of inmates at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison by American soldiers during the US occupation of Iraq. The film, which is playing out of competition at Venice, follows the ups and downs of his career, in which he has often worked as a scrappy outsider seeking to uncover secrets of the US military and intelligence agencies. Still active at the age of 88, Hersh said he was surprised how few reporters were willing to challenge authority in the United States despite years of high-level scandal and abuse. “There is still integrity in America right now. But we are in an existential crisis,” Hersh told the same press conference, adding that he was determined to investigate President Donald Trump. “I don’t have the kind of access to him (I need), but I am working on it,” he said. Poitras said it was vital to keep seeking the truth: “We have to believe there are tipping points that can change the direction we’re going. We have to stand up and fight.” Archival footage, Hersh’s personal notebooks and interviews highlight his meticulous reporting process and unyielding protection of sources – an obsession that spills over into the film as he challenges the directors on what they extracted from his notes. Hersh’s feisty character emerged at the press conference as he refused to be drawn on the personal toll his reporting had taken on him. “I don’t care what the question is,” he said, prompting co-director Obenhaus to say: “You are getting a glimpse of what it was like to edit Sy Hersh.” – Reuters Poitras (left) and Hersh at the film festival on Friday. – REUTERSPIC

Camacho greets supporters after his release. – REUTERSPIC

His imprisonment has been a rallying cause for the Bolivian right, which is poised to win back the presidency after two decades in an election run-off in October. Camacho was released from custody after a court ruled that he had been kept in

pre-trial detention for more than the legally permissible two years. He has been placed under house arrest while the investigation into him continues, but his lawyers said that did not prevent him from working. – AFP

Washington bars Palestinian leader Abbas from UN WASHINGTON: The United States said on Friday it would not allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to travel to New York next month for a UN gathering of world leaders, where several US allies are set to recognise Palestine as a state. Manhattan. He was also set to attend a summit, at which Britain, France, Australia and Canada have pledged to formally recognise a Palestinian state. Abbas’ office said it was astonished by the visa decision and said it violated the UN “headquarters agreement”.

A UN General Assembly “cannot be subject to any restrictions on access,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the US move was “unacceptable”. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris said the EU should protest the decision “in the strongest possible terms”. The State Department justified its decision by reiterating longstanding US and Israeli allegations that the PA and PLO had failed to repudiate extremism while pushing for “unilateral recognition” of a Palestinian state. – Reuters

Under a 1947 agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. However, Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons. Several European foreign ministers yesterday criticised the US decision.

The State Department said Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by the decision to deny and revoke visas for members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA). Abbas had planned to attend the annual high-level UN General Assembly in