Topline
An appellate court ruled most tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump are illegal, backing a lower court’s argument that the levies exceeded Trump’s authority, though the duties will remain in place for weeks as the Trump administration brings the case to the Supreme Court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled 7-4 late Friday that Trump overstepped his authority by issuing tariffs, as the court wrote the power to impose such tariffs is “vested exclusively in the legislative branch” and a “core Congressional power.”
Dissenting judges argued Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)—a 1977 law allowing the president to regulate international trade—to justify his tariffs is not an “unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority.”
The IEEPA neither mentions tariffs nor has “procedural safeguards” that set limits on the president’s power to impose tariffs and does not “give the president wide-ranging authority” to issue levies, the majority ruling said.
The appellate court’s ruling does not take effect until Oct. 14, however, allowing the Trump administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court.
“The president's tariffs remain in effect, and we look forward to ultimate victory on this matter,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement.
“ALL TARIFFS ARE STILL IN EFFECT!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in criticism of the “Highly Partisan” appeals court. Trump claimed, “If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the country.” He suggested the Supreme Court would “help” keep the tariffs in place for the “benefit of our Nation,” adding if the appellate court’s ruling is “allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America.”
The ruling covers Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs imposed on most U.S. trade partners, including additional rates on goods imported from China, Mexico and Canada. If upheld, the ruling would prevent the levies from being enforced, though other tariffs, including those imposed on steel, aluminum and copper, would remain in place because they were issued under a different presidential authority. It’s not immediately clear how the ruling would impact trade deals reached between the U.S. and countries like Japan, South Korea and others in response to the tariffs, or how the broader financial market would react.
Trump unveiled wide-reaching tariffs on U.S. trade partners earlier this year, claiming authority to do as he argued an international trade imbalance was harming national security. Friday’s ruling upholds a decision from the Court of International Trade in May, which disputed Trump’s authority to impose sweeping tariffs under the IEEPA, ruling in favor of a consolidated lawsuit filed by a dozen states and five small businesses. The Trump administration has argued courts previously approved President Richard Nixon’s emergency use of tariffs in 1971 under earlier emergency powers legislation, though the Court of International Trade rejected the claim and said Trump’s tariffs “exceed any authority granted to the president” under the law.