No ‘power to impose tariff’: US court declares most Trump tariffs illegal; judge cites overreach

A US federal appeals court on Friday ruled that most tariffs imposed by president Donald Trump under emergency powers were illegal, striking at the heart of his trade policy and setting up a likely battle in the Supreme Court, news agency Reuters reported.Trump has relied heavily on tariffs in his second term, using them as a central tool of US foreign policy to pressure trading partners and push for revised trade agreements. While the duties have helped his administration secure economic concessions, they have also added to uncertainty in financial markets.The ruling by the US court of appeals for the federal circuit in Washington, DC, covered two sets of tariffs - Trump’s “reciprocal” duties imposed in April as part of his trade war and another set announced in February against China, Canada and Mexico.

It does not affect other tariffs Trump imposed under separate statutes, including those on steel and aluminum imports.The court observed: “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,” as quoted by the agency.

The decision also said Trump had exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), though the tariffs imposed under the rule were not part of the case to be decided. Trump had invoked IEEPA, a 1977 law historically used for sanctions and asset freezes, to justify tariffs by declaring a national emergency over persistent US trade deficits and cross-border drug flows. The administration argued that the law’s power to “regulate” imports extended to tariffs.The appeals court rejected that view, saying: “It seems unlikely that Congress intended, in enacting IEEPA, to depart from its past practice and grant the President unlimited authority to impose tariffs. The statute neither mentions tariffs (or any of its synonyms) nor has procedural safeguards that contain clear limits on the President’s power to impose tariffs.”