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 Manhattan-based court said the US Constitution gives Congress exclusive powers to regulate commerce with other nations and this is not superseded by the president’s remit to safeguard the economy.
Within minutes of the ruling the Trump administration lodged an appeal.
“It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency,” White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai said in a statement.
“President Trump pledged to put America First, and the Administration is committed to using every lever of executive power to address this crisis and restore American Greatness,” he added.
The lawsuit, filed by the nonpartisan Liberty Justice Center on behalf of five small businesses that import goods from countries targeted by the duties, was the first major legal challenge to Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs.
The case is one of seven legal challenges to the administration’s trade policies, along with challenges from 13 US states and other groups of small businesses.
In the ruling, a three-judge panel said the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law that Trump cited to justify the tariffs, does not give him the power to impose the sweeping them.
“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.
