Importers Will Plead With Courts to Nix Trump’s Tariffs

A handful of international trade cases pending in 2020 will determine whether President Donald Trump can continue wielding unlimited authority to force U.S. importers to pay steep tariffs on steel and other goods that the administration says threaten national security.

While courts are largely deferential to the executive on national security, a recent case involving steel tariffs on Turkey sends a message that the president doesn’t have “carte blanche” when he uses a Cold War era law to impose tariffs on imports, said Clark Packard, trade policy counsel at the R Street Institute, a research organization promoting free markets.

The ...