
A US appeals court has ruled that many of President Donald Trump鈥檚 tariffs, which have upended global trade, were illegal.
However, it has allowed them to remain in place for now, giving Trump time to take the fight to the Supreme Court.
The 7-4 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court鈥檚 finding that Trump had exceeded his authority in tapping emergency economic powers to impose wide-ranging duties.
But the judges allowed the tariffs to stay in place through mid-October 鈥 and Trump swiftly made clear he would put the time to use.
The appeals court 鈥渋ncorrectly said that our Tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end,鈥 he said on his Truth Social platform lashing out at the ruling.
He added that he would fight back 鈥渨ith the help of the United States Supreme Court鈥.
The decision marks a blow to the President, who has wielded duties as a wide-ranging economic policy tool.
It could also cast doubt over deals Trump has struck with major trading partners such as the European Union, and raised the question of what would happen to the billions of dollars collected by the United States since the tariffs were put in place if the conservative-majority Supreme Court does not back him.
Friday鈥檚 case, however, does not deal with sector-specific tariffs that the Trump administration has also imposed on steel, aluminium, autos and other imports.
Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose 鈥渞eciprocal鈥 tariffs on almost all US trading partners, with a 10% baseline level and higher rates for dozens of economies.
Trump plans to appeal to the Supreme Court, aiming to maintain the tariffs long-term. Photo / Carolyn Van Houten, The Washington Post
He has invoked similar authorities to slap separate tariffs hitting Mexico, Canada and China over the flow of deadly drugs into the United States.
The Court of International Trade had ruled in May that Trump overstepped his authority with across-the-board global levies, blocking most of the duties from taking effect, but the appeals court later put the ruling on hold to consider the case.
Friday鈥檚 ruling noted that 鈥渢he 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鈥.
It added that it was not addressing if Trump鈥檚 actions should have been taken as a matter of policy or deciding whether IEEPA authorises any tariffs at all.
Instead, it sought to resolve the question of whether Trump鈥檚 鈥渞eciprocal鈥 tariffs and those imposed over trafficking were authorised, with the document noting: 鈥淲e conclude they are not鈥.
In a supplementary filing just hours before the appeals court released its decision, Trump Cabinet officials argued that ruling the global tariffs illegal and blocking them would hurt US foreign policy and national security.
鈥淪uch a ruling would threaten broader US strategic interests at home and abroad, likely lead to retaliation and the unwinding of agreed-upon deals by foreign-trading partners,鈥 wrote commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.
Lutnick added that they could also 鈥渄erail critical ongoing negotiations鈥 with partners.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, warned that suspending the effectiveness of tariffs 鈥渨ould lead to dangerous diplomatic embarrassment鈥.
Several legal challenges have been filed against the tariffs Trump invoked citing emergencies.
If these tariffs are ultimately ruled illegal, companies could seek reimbursements.
-Beiyi Seow, Agence France-Presse
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