US Court Finds Trump’s Global Tariffs Illegal

A US appeals court on Friday said that most of the tariffs issued by US president Donald Trump were illegal, but allowed them to stay in place for now, AFP reported. The ruling will not take effect until 14 October to give the administration time to ask the Supreme Court to take up the case.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court’s order which stated that Trump exceeded his authority and deemed them “invalid as contrary to law”. The 7-4 ruling by the court affects the reciprocal tariffs issued against several countries in the world, along with tariffs imposed on India, China, Mexico and Canada.

Trump criticised the appeals court and its ruling on Truth Social, stating "If allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America."

He further said that "Today a Highly Partisan Appeals Court incorrectly said that our Tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end. If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country. It would make us financially weak, and we have to be strong.”

Trump had justified his decision to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which gives the president the power to act against "unusual and extraordinary" threats.

Trump had earlier declared a national emergency on Trade, citing that a trade imbalance is harmful to US national security.

The ruling noted that “the statute bestows significant authority on the President to undertake a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency, but none of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties, or the like, or the power to tax.”

Trump claimed that the court “incorrectly” issued the ruling, “but they know the United States of America will win in the end.”