Beijing Calls for End to US Tariffs After Supreme Court Ruling

China urged the United States on Monday to cancel unilateral tariffs announced by President Donald Trump after the US Supreme Court struck down many of his measures. The court ruled six to three on Friday that Trump does not have the authority to impose tariffs under a 1977 law he has relied on to impose sudden levies on individual countries, upending global trade.

Trump reacted furiously, announcing first a new 10 percent global duty on imports under a different legal authority, before raising it to 15 percent on Saturday. China’s commerce ministry said on Monday it was conducting a “comprehensive assessment” of the ruling’s impact, and called on Washington to lift the tariffs.

“China urges the United States to cancel its unilateral tariff measures on its trading partners,” the ministry said in a statement. “There are no winners in a trade war and that protectionism leads nowhere.” The new 15 percent global duties are due to kick in on Tuesday, and are expected to last 150 days with exemptions for some products. The Chinese foreign ministry also noted that it was paying “close attention” to potential moves by the United States to maintain increased tariffs.

“The United States is currently planning alternative measures such as trade investigations in order to maintain increased tariffs on trading partners. China will continue to pay close attention to this and resolutely safeguard China’s interests,” it said. The Supreme Court ruling was a stunning rebuke to Trump from a judicial body that has largely sided with him since his return to office.

It marked a major political setback in striking down his signature economic policy that has roiled the global trade order.

Several countries have said they are studying the Supreme Court ruling and Trump’s subsequent tariff announcements. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told US media on Sunday that the country’s trade deals with China, the European Union and other partners will remain in force despite the ruling.

“US unilateral tariffs ... violate international trade rules and US domestic law, and are not in the interests of any party,” the Chinese ministry said. “Cooperation between China and the United States is beneficial to both sides, but fighting is harmful,” it added.

Trade and tariffs are expected to dominate the agenda for both China and the US ahead of a highly anticipated visit by Trump to China in late March and early April - when he will meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Trump’s planned new levies are grounded in a separate but untested law, known as Section 122, that allows tariffs up to 15 percent but requires congressional approval to extend them after 150 days. No president has previously invoked Section 122, and its use could lead to further legal challenges.

“China will continue to pay close attention to this and firmly safeguard its interests,” the Commerce Ministry said. Gao Lingyun, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was cited by state-run Global Times as saying the US tariff decisions are “highly arbitrary” and were being wielded as a “political weapon.” “Tariff policy should be based on rigorous assessment, not political preference,” he was quoted as saying. The US court’s ruling invalidated a number of tariffs that the Trump administration had imposed on Asian export powerhouses from China and South Korea to Japan and Taiwan, the world’s largest chipmaker and a key player in tech supply chains.

South Korea said it would continue to consult with the US to maintain a “balance of interests” between the two countries, while its industry minister said there was concern among officials across industries, including cars, batteries and chips. “The public and private sector need to work together to secure Korean companies’ export competitiveness and diversify their markets,” Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said on Monday.

India said it had delayed plans to send a trade delegation to Washington this week to finalise an interim trade deal, chiefly because of fresh tariff uncertainty out of the US, according to a source in its trade ministry.