50 leading US economists petition against countervailing duties

VTV.vn - A group of leading economists in the US has called on the Supreme Court to overturn most of the global tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

A group of nearly 50 economists co-signed a petition to the Supreme Court on October 24. The petition asserts that trade deficits between the United States and other countries are normal and not the unusual and serious threat that the Trump administration has cited to impose a series of tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977.

Economists also say these tariffs will not eliminate the trade deficit with the US. On the contrary, the tariffs will have a multi-trillion dollar impact on the US economy, spreading to every household and every state. The petition also "complains" about the Trump administration for imposing tariffs on countries based on trade deficits that are nearly impossible to balance.

This group includes many leading economic experts, from many different political tendencies. Notable are two former Chairmen of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen; Douglas Holtz-Eakin - former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Greg Mankiw - Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) under President George W. Bush and Jason Furman, Chairman of the CEA under President Barack Obama.

The Supreme Court will consider the legality of President Trump’s tariffs in a hearing on November 5. A number of outside groups have filed “friend-of-the-court” briefs in anticipation of the ruling. The economists’ submission was one of several filed before the October 24 deadline in support of companies challenging Trump’s tariffs. The briefs were also filed by 31 former federal judges, former military and national security officers, and foreign policy professors.

The Trump administration, in a filing with the Supreme Court on September 19, argued that the president’s tariffs were necessary to “correct the trade deficit that is destroying America.” The filing also asserted that the tariffs would help the United States become a rich and powerful nation.

Previously, on May 28, the US Court of International Trade (CIT) concluded that the US President's imposition of tariffs under IEEPA was unconstitutional, because this law does not allow tariffs to be used as a trade tool. On August 29, the Federal Court of Appeals upheld the CIT's ruling, reinforcing the view that the administration had exceeded its authority. The Court of Appeals' ruling against the use of IEEPA to impose tariffs paves the way for the case to be sent to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court justices will decide whether President Trump was lawful in enacting the tariffs under IEEPA.

Source: https://vtv.vn/50-nha-kinh-te-hang-dau-tai-my-kien-nghi-phan-doi-thue-doi-ung-100251026095904459.htm