In a historic decision, the US Supreme Court canceled the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. The court said that the President crossed his legal limits by imposing taxes on such a large scale without the express approval of Congress. The person who directly challenged President Trump in this matter is Indian-origin American Neel Katyal. Neel Katyal has been a former acting Solicitor General and it was he who challenged Trump’s decision.

Neel Katyal argued that Trump misused the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 and imposed unfair and unconstitutional taxes on goods coming from almost every trading partner country. After the decision, Katyal expressed happiness and said – ‘Today, the US Supreme Court has stood in favor of the rule of law and the citizens of the country and given a clear message that the President may be powerful, but the Constitution is more powerful than him. In America, only Congress has the right to tax the public.

What did Neel Katyal say after winning the tariff war?

Describing this decision as a constitutional milestone, Neel Katyal said that the court completely accepted his legal arguments. According to him, this matter was not about any one President, but was related to the limits of the presidency and distribution of powers. Another Indian-American lawyer Prateek Shah is also involved in this case challenging Trump’s tariff authority. He heads Supreme Court and appellate matters at Akin Gump. Shah represented two educational toy companies, Learning Resources and Hand to Mind. He challenged the powers of the President under IEEPA.

Who is Neel Katyal, who got the tariff removed?

1. Neel Katyal is a well-known personality in the legal world of America. He has argued more than 50 cases in the US Supreme Court. His first major national recognition came in 2000, when he served as co-counsel on behalf of Vice President Al Gore in the landmark case Bush v. Gore.
2. Over time, he developed the image of a Trump Tormentor, i.e. a prominent lawyer who challenged Trump legally. He challenged many policies of the Trump administration in court.
3. Katyal opposed the travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries and also argued against the White House’s efforts to expedite deportations during Trump’s first term.
4. Katyal was born in Chicago to Indian immigrant parents. His mother was a doctor and father an engineer. He studied law at Yale Law School, where he studied under the guidance of renowned constitutional law expert Akhil Amar.
5. His sister Sonia Katyal is also a law professor and co-director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, an institute associated with the University of California Law School. Akhil Amar’s brother Vikram Amar has previously been the Dean of the University of Illinois Law College and is currently a distinguished professor of law at the University of California.

What did Donald Trump say?

Trump criticized this decision. He said the judges who voted against the tariffs should be ashamed. Trump called it an absurd decision and said that now he will try to raise more revenue than before. Trump also announced that he has signed a new global tariff of 10 percent on goods imported from all countries. He said that this new tariff will come into effect immediately and is necessary to advance his trade agenda.