'End the deal': Heat is on Anwar after US court's stunning blow to Trump's tariffs

A stunning ruling by the US Supreme Court today that President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs are illegal is set to turn the spotlight on government leaders worldwide who have conceded to US demands by signing controversial trade deals, including Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Vocal lawyer Rafique Rashid said the ruling means the widely condemned Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), which Anwar signed last year, is also illegal.

He said Anwar's government must now take the necessary steps in response to the latest development.

He called for a motion to be put to a vote in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday to reject the agreement which Anwar signed with Trump last October.

Rafique said the Trade and Industry Ministry, which for the past four months has taken pains to defend the deal despite criticism from experts as "one-sided" with clauses that reduced Malaysia's status to that of a vassal state of the US, must inform its counterparts in Washington that the agreement has been terminated.

"The claims by critics that this agreement is biased and threatens national sovereignty are now vindicated," said Rafique.

Anwar has repeatedly dismissed protests from opposition politicians, economists and legal experts over the agreement.

The government has also defended the agreement as a way to persuade Washington to reduce Trump’s trade tariffs, from the 25% he announced in July last year, to 19% in exchange for various concessions by Malaysia.

Details of the agreement only emerged to the Malaysian public after the White House published them on its official website, hours after Anwar and Trump signed the agreement in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the Asean Summit on Oct 26.

Critics have described the agreement as unprecedented, with one local economist calling it “a stunning retreat” that surrenders Malaysia’s trade autonomy “in exchange for meagre concessions”.

They say it is replete with clauses forcing Malaysia to align itself with American geopolitical interests, in addition to heavily skewed conditions in favour of the US economy.

The US-Malaysia agreement has also been the subject of more than 300 police reports nationwide, including one filed by veteran leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Dec 2, in which he urged authorities to investigate Anwar and those involved in negotiating the agreement for economic sabotage and undermining the country’s sovereignty.

Among those outraged by the agreement is former attorney-general Tommy Thomas, who said the various commitments imposed on Malaysia showed that those involved in the negotiations – from the Prime Minister’s Office to the Attorney-General’s Chambers – “did not negotiate at all”.

“The US handed them their draft. And it was signed lamely by Anwar, who had Trump’s pen to show for it, and a ride in Trump’s car,” he said, referring to Trump’s gift of a White House pen to Anwar shortly after signing the agreement.

In a 6-3 majority decision today, the US Supreme Court ruled that Trump violated federal law when he unilaterally imposed sweeping tariffs across the globe, which had been his rallying call as he bid to return to the White House last year.

The case revolves around import taxes that Trump unveiled last year on goods from countries around the world.

In April last year, Trump used his emergency economic powers under a 1977 law to impose duties on scores of trade partners, in a dramatic expansion of his trade war with China.

He then offered these countries to revise the tariff rates if they agreed to sign heavily skewed trade deals in Washington's favour, similar to the one that Anwar signed.

Trump to judges: 'Shameful' and 'fools'

In their judgment today, the Supreme Court justices warned that the emergency powers should not be treated as a "cheat code", adding that they could be used as a pretext to usurp the powers of the legislative branch, the US Congress.

According to CNN, no other US president has used emergency powers as Trump has, with eight emergency declarations made in his first 100 days.

The decision is welcomed by businesses and US states which opposed the duties, and could potentially force tariff refunds amounting to billions of dollars.

True to form, Trump lashed out at the judges by calling them "fools", saying he was "absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what's right for our country".

He also vowed to fight against refunds and expected the matter to be in court for years.

He then announced a new 10% global tariff to replace the ones struck down by the court today.