US Appeals Court Rules Against Donald Trump’s Tariffs; Here’s How the President Reacted

The United States Court of Appeals delivered a blow to the President Donald Trump-led US administration on Friday. The federal appeals court ruled that President Trump had no legal right to impose trade tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The court in its 7-4 ruling, however, didn’t strike down the tariffs imposed on various countries, including India, immediately. The judgement has left room for the Trump-led administration to appeal to the Supreme Court, BBC reported. 

The appeals court ruling came in response to two lawsuits filed by small businesses and a coalition of US states against Trump’s executive orders in April, which imposed a baseline 10% tariff on almost every country in the world as well as “reciprocal” tariffs on several countries.

Trump used the powers given to the president under IEEPA to declare a national emergency on trade. He argued that a trade imbalance is harmful to US national security. The court, however, ruled that imposing tariffs is not within the president’s mandate and is a “core congressional power”. Additionally, in its 127-page ruling, the court said that the IEEPA “neither mentions tariffs (or any of its synonyms) nor has procedural safeguards that contain clear limits on the President’s power to impose tariffs”, BBC reported. The court called Trump’s tariffs “invalid as contrary to law”. 

Donald Trump’s Reaction 

President Trump criticised the ruling on his social media platform Truth Social and said if tariffs are removed, it would make the country financially weak. 

“If these tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the country. It would make us financially weak, and we have to be strong,” said Trump.

Prior to this ruling, the New York-based Court of International Trade declared that the tariffs were unlawful. That ruling was reportedly put on hold during the appeal process.