In the trade war he has waged against the rest of the world, US President Donald Trump has just suffered a major setback with a decision by his own country's judiciary. On Friday, August 29, a federal appeals court upheld a ruling that the sweeping tariffs the US president unilaterally imposed on most other countries were illegal. The decision has the potential to dismantle one of the main pillars of Trump's economic policy.

The legal battle is far from over. The 127-page ruling confirmed a previous decision of a lower court, the US Court of International Trade, issued earlier this summer. The ruling will not take effect until October 14, giving the administration time to take the matter to the US Supreme Court, which it hopes will overturn the judges' decision.

The Republican president is indeed appealing the highest US court, which currently has a conservative majority. In a message posted on his social network Truth Social on Friday, Trump reminded his followers that the tariffs were still in force and dramatized the stakes: "If allowed to stand, this decision would literally destroy the United States of America."

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