Reacting to the decision by the US Supreme Court to rule against President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the BCC, said:
“While this decision gives clarity on the President’s executive powers to raise tariffs it does little to clear the murky waters for business.
“This finding relates to the tariffs the President introduced using a 1977 law - the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
“These include many of the so-called reciprocal tariffs that were introduced as part of the President’s ‘Liberation Day’.
“Different legislation has been used for other US tariffs, such as for steel and aluminium, and the President also has other options at his disposal to retain his current regime.
“Indeed, if he wants to, he could use the 1974 Trade Act to impose even higher tariffs than the additional 10% levies that the UK and Australia have already been affected byin many goods sectors.
“The court’s decision also raises questions on how US importers can reclaim levies already paid and whether UK exporters can also receive a share of any rebate depending on commercial trading terms.
“For the UK, the priority remains bringing tariffs down wherever possible. It’s important the UK government continues to negotiate on issues like steel and aluminiumtariffs and reduces the scope of other possible duties.
“We have recently agreed a good deal on pharmaceuticals, and we should focus on using the Economic Prosperity Deal to ensure the UK gets the preferential treatmentoutlined there.
“Any competitive advantage that we can secure is likely to help boost our exports to the single country, globally, we do most trade with.”
The full Supreme Court ruling can be found here.