Trump increased what had been a 25 percent tariff to 50 percent, which the steel companies have argued exceeded his authority. They had sought repayment from the U.S. government of the $54 million they paid collectively in duties.
At issue is a president’s authority under a federal law called the Trade Expansion Act. That law lets a president set tariffs for the purpose of protecting national security.
The challengers pointed to a provision of the law that establishes a window of 90 days for a president to impose a tariff after receiving a report from the U.S. commerce secretary. In 2018, such a report was submitted in January and Trump announced the initial 25 percent tariff in March, within the 90-day window. But, the challengers said, his decision to increase the tariff to 50 percent in August 2018 fell outside that window and was unlawful.
Trump lowered the tariff back to 25 percent in May 2019.
The Biden administration,…
