A federal court has blocked President Donald Trump’s ambitious "Liberation Day" tariffs that imposed hefty increases on goods from many countries. The ruling came from the New York-based Court of International Trade, which decided that Trump exceeded his authority by using emergency powers to implement these tariffs.
The court ruled that the Constitution clearly grants Congress the power to regulate foreign trade, not the president. This decision effectively cancels all tariffs that Trump had established under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law from 1977 that had never before been used to impose tariffs.
The judges stated, “The court does not read IEEPA to confer such unbounded authority,” emphasizing that the law does not allow the president to impose unlimited tariffs on goods from nearly any country. They also noted that there was no real emergency that justified such sweeping tariffs.
This ruling stems from two lawsuits: one filed by a group of businesses and another by a dozen states. The judges highlighted that the tariffs lacked clear limits and that the IEEPA should impose meaningful constraints on any authority it grants.
The decision is a significant setback for Trump, as tariffs were a key part of his economic strategy. His administration defended them as a means to boost U.S. manufacturing and pressure other countries into better trade agreements. Trump also used tariffs to leverage concessions on issues like immigration and drug enforcement.
With this court ruling, the tariffs that were once seen as a cornerstone of Trump’s policy are now permanently blocked, raising questions about the future of his trade approach.