'Trade deficits distinct from BOP deficits': Gita Gopinath backs Neal Katyal on Trump’s 15% tariff move

Former IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath has backed Indian-American lawyer Neal Katyal in questioning US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 15 per cent global tariff.

Responding to Katyal’s post on X, Gopinath supported his argument that trade deficits and balance-of-payments deficits are conceptually different, a distinction central to the legal debate over the administration’s use of Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to justify sweeping tariffs.




Katyal had earlier criticised Trump’s move, saying the president cannot bypass Congress to impose broad tariffs. He pointed out that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) had previously argued before the Supreme Court of the United States that Section 122 does not clearly apply in situations driven by trade deficits.

“Seems hard for the President to rely on the 15 percent statute (sec 122) when his DOJ in our case told the Court the opposite,” Katyal wrote. He added that if Trump believes such tariffs are justified, “he should do the American thing and go to Congress,” stressing that the Constitution gives lawmakers, not the president, primary authority over taxation.

Katyal's role in Supreme Court setback for Trump

Katyal recently played a central role in a major Supreme Court ruling that struck down most of Trump’s earlier tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Representing a coalition of small businesses and trade groups, Katyal successfully argued that the administration had exceeded its legal authority.

In a 6-3 verdict, the court held that the emergency powers law did not grant the president sweeping authority to impose broad tariffs and reaffirmed that the power to levy taxes rests primarily with Congress.

The ruling marked a significant constitutional setback for Trump’s trade measures and curtailed the use of emergency powers to justify tariffs.

Who is Neal Katyal?

Born in Chicago to Indian immigrant parents, Katyal is one of the most prominent Indian-origin lawyers in the United States. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Yale Law School, he clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer and later served as Acting Solicitor General under President Barack Obama.

He has argued more than 50 cases before the Supreme Court and is currently a partner at Milbank LLP and a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Known for his expertise in constitutional law, Katyal has handled several high-profile cases involving executive power, civil rights and national security.