China's Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday that it is carrying out a full assessment of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtailed the former president's authority to impose sweeping trade tariffs under a declared national economic emergency.
The ministry's statement urged the United States to "cancel its unilateral tariffs on its trading partners," according to a translation of the release, and called for cooperation between the two sides rather than confrontation.
The ministry's comments followed the high court decision last week, which found that the 2025 declaration of a national economic emergency exceeded the president's authority when it was used to justify broad tariff measures.
In response to the ruling, the former president announced a new tariff measure under a different legal basis - initially a 10% trade tariff that he subsequently increased to 15% - as an apparent effort to maintain levies on foreign goods.
China's Commerce Ministry also highlighted reports that the United States is preparing to open investigations into its trading partners as a mechanism to keep tariff measures in place. The ministry said it will "closely monitor" developments and will "firmly safeguard its interests."
The ministry recalled that the former president had targeted China with steep tariffs in early-2025, a move that ignited a sharp trade dispute between the two countries. While tensions eased somewhat toward the end of that year, U.S. tariff levels on Chinese goods remained relatively high.
Over the weekend, reports indicated that several other countries were seeking greater clarity on the administration's tariff approach following the Supreme Court decision. The ministry's statement and those developments come as the former president is scheduled to visit China in late-March and early-April for a closely watched summit.
Context and implications
The Commerce Ministry framed its assessment and call for the United States to rescind unilateral tariffs as part of an appeal for engagement rather than escalation. It stressed vigilance in monitoring how Washington might attempt to preserve tariffs through alternate legal pathways.