The architect of Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs is facing scrutiny from cabinet members after the levies were halted by judges.
A New York court ruled on Wednesday that Mr Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs were illegal and overstepped the authority of the Oval Office.
The ruling is a “huge smack in the face” for Peter Navarro, one of the president’s closest advisers, a source close to the White House told The Telegraph.
Members of Mr Trump’s cabinet are now closely scrutinising Mr Navarro, who is widely viewed as the architect of the president’s tariff scheme.
“Navarro has been given enough rope to hang himself,” the source said.
Mr Navarro, left, is widely believed to have been the architect of the president’s scheme – Andrew Harnik
The Manhattan-based Court of International Trade on Wednesday ruled that the US president overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from nations that sell more to the United States than they buy.
The court said the US Constitution gives Congress exclusive authority to regulate trade with other countries and cannot be overridden by the president’s emergency powers to safeguard the US economy.
The administration won a temporary reprieve on Thursday with an appeals court temporarily blocking the previous ruling halting tariffs.
Mr Trump has claimed broad authority to issue tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which is meant to address “unusual and extraordinary” threats during a national emergency.
Mr Navarro is understood to have counselled the president to use the IEEPA to implement the measures.
The law, which Mr Trump is the first president to use to implement tariffs, has historically been used to impose sanctions on enemies of the US or freeze their assets.
A source close to the White House said Mr Navarro will face backlash over the decision from within Mr Trump’s cabinet, potentially paving the way for him to be replaced by Robert Lighthizer, the president’s former trade secretary.
Mr Lighthizer sparked a trade war with Beijing during Mr Trump’s first term by imposing tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods.
The international trade lawyer was a key adviser to the president’s 2024 campaign but was passed over for a cabinet position in the administration.
Shortly after the court ruling, which quashes the tariffs Mr Trump imposed on Canada, Mexico and China, the White House filed a notice of appeal.
“We think we have a strong case. Yes, we will immediately appeal and try to stay the ruling,” Mr Navarro confirmed to Bloomberg.
He added that the court ruling showed the White House could also use alternative legal methods to impose a baseline 10 per cent tariff and higher reciprocal duties on other countries.
“So nothing has really changed here in that sense… We are still, as we speak, having countries call us and tell us they want a deal,” Mr Navarro said. “These deals are going to happen.”
Mr Navarro served as a trade adviser during Mr Trump’s 2016 election campaign and has long advocated for a radically protectionist trade policy.
He spent four months in jail last year for contempt of Congress after he refused to cooperate with an investigation into the Jan 6 riots.
Addressing the trade court’s slap down, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, blamed the decision on “activist judges” and called for the Supreme Court to intervene.
The ruling was handed down by a three-judge panel, who were nominated to the court under the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama and Mr Trump.
“There is a troubling and dangerous trend of unelected judges inserting themselves into the presidential decision making process,” Ms Leavitt said.
“America cannot function if president Trump, or any other president for that matter, has their sensitive diplomatic or trade negotiations railroaded by activist judges.”
She added: “But ultimately, the Supreme Court must put an end to this for the sake of our Constitution.”
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