A US federal appeals court in Washington has ruled that Donald Trump’s global “reciprocal” and fentanyl tariffs against China, Mexico and Canada are illegal, upholding a lower court’s decision to block them.
The court decided to keep the tariffs in place until October 14, allowing the Trump administration time to appeal to the US Supreme Court.
The verdict deals a major blow to Trump’s “America first” trade strategy.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the president lacks the authority to unilaterally impose tariffs under emergency powers without congressional approval.
“The statute bestows significant authority on the President to undertake a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency,” the court stated. “But none of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties, or the like, or the power to tax.”
White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai, in a statement said that “President Trump lawfully exercised the tariff powers granted to him by Congress to defend our national and economic security from foreign threats.”
He added that Trump’s “tariffs remain in effect, and we look forward to ultimate victory on this matter.”
Trump reacted to the ruling, saying the court “incorrectly said that our tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end”.
“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,” he added, declaring that “if allowed to stand, this decision would literally destroy the United States of America.”
The case was heard in late July by all 11 active judges, eight appointed by Democratic presidents and three by Republicans, which was brought by five small American businesses and 12 US states.
Neal Katyal, an attorney for the plaintiffs who argued in the court, expressed hope that the tariffs, now deemed “illegal and unconstitutional”, would be lifted.
“It is very much our hope that these tariffs ... will go away. The president should do the right thing and seek authorisation from Congress, as the court has now mandated,” he said..
During the hearing, judges expressed scepticism about the legality of the president’s sweeping tariff actions, questioning the scope of executive authority over trade.