A US federal court has ruled that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority by imposing global tariffs, in a major blow to a key part of his economic policies.
The Court of International Trade ruled that an emergency law invoked by the White House does not provide unilateral authority to impose tariffs on nearly every country.
“The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs.
The Trafficking Tariffs fail because they do not deal with the threats set forth in those orders,” they wrote.
Global financial markets have been on a rollercoaster ride since Trump announced the sweeping tariffs on 2 April as some measures were reversed or reduced as the White House negotiated with foreign governments.
In a significant setback to a crucial aspect of his economic policies, a US federal court has decided that President Donald Trump overreached himself by enacting international tariffs.
The Court of International Trade decided that the White House’s use of an emergency law does not give it the right to unilaterally impose tariffs on almost all nations.
The Manhattan-based court ruled that the president’s mandate to protect the economy does not supersede Congress’s monopoly on regulating international trade under the US Constitution.
The Trump administration appealed the decision within minutes of it being made.
The nonpartisan Liberty Justice Center brought the case on behalf of five small companies that import goods from the duty-targeted nations. It was the first significant legal challenge to Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs.
Along with challenges from 13 US states and other groups of small businesses, the case is one of seven legal challenges to the administration’s trade policies.
A panel of three judges ruled that Trump does not have the authority to impose the sweeping tariffs because of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which he used as justification.
“Any power granted to the President by IEEPA to control imports through tariffs is superseded by the Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders. They wrote, “The trafficking tariffs are ineffective because they do not address the threats outlined in those orders.
Since Trump announced the sweeping tariffs on April 2, the world’s financial markets have been on a wild ride, with some of the measures being reduced or reversed as the White House negotiated with other governments.
