WASHINGTON, August 30 (WSH) — A federal appeals court ruled Friday that President Donald Trump had no legal authority to impose sweeping import tariffs under emergency powers, but the duties will remain in effect while the case proceeds.
In a 7–4 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not grant the president the right to broadly levy tariffs. The judgment allows Trump’s administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Trump vowed to fight on, warning in a social media post that if the ruling stands, it would “literally destroy the United States of America.”
The decision marks a major setback to Trump’s efforts to reshape decades of U.S. trade policy single-handedly. His aggressive use of tariffs — often rolled out unpredictably — has unsettled global markets, strained relations with allies, and raised fears of higher consumer prices and slower growth.
Still, Trump has also wielded the tariffs as leverage in negotiations with the European Union, Japan, and others, bringing in billions of dollars in revenue. By July, tariff collections had already surpassed $140 billion, more than double last year’s figure.
The ruling specifically covered two sets of tariffs: Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs of up to 50% on countries with trade surpluses with the U.S., and “trafficking tariffs” aimed at imports from Canada, China, and Mexico to pressure them on drug and immigration issues. Judges concluded both exceeded the scope of IEEPA.
Other Trump-era levies — such as tariffs on steel, aluminum, and Chinese goods imposed under different laws — are unaffected by the ruling.
Legal experts say Trump could still rely on narrower trade statutes to impose duties, though with less sweeping effect than his emergency orders allowed.
