Labor Day weekend kicked off with a bang as a Washington-based United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled many of President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs illegal.
In a decision handed down Friday afternoon, a panel of 11 judges ruled seven to four that the president overstepped his authority by leveraging the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to levy “reciprocal” duties on a multitude of United States trading partners.
The tariffs faced sharp scrutiny last month from the panel, which expressed skepticism about the president’s unprecedented application of the law. Established in 1977, IEEPA allows the president to regulate international commerce in the face of a national emergency characterized by the presence of an “unusual and extraordinary threat.”
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“The core Congressional power to impose taxes such as tariffs is vested exclusively in the legislative branch by the Constitution,” the Friday decision read. “Tariffs are a core Congressional power.”
The Court concluded that Congress “did not give the president wide-ranging authority to impose tariffs.”
The ruling affirmed a May decision from a New York-based Court of International Trade, which said that “The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs.”
The trade court complaints stemmed from lawsuits filed by small businesses and American companies, as well as 15 complaints from states including California, New York and Oregon that were consolidated into a single suit known as V.O.S. Selections v. Trump.
Without leveraging IEEPA, Trump will still be able to impose tariffs—but not without limitations, and not indefinitely. “These tariffs apply to nearly all articles imported into the United States (and, in the case of the Reciprocal Tariffs, apply to almost all countries), impose high rates which are ever-changing and exceed those set out in the [U.S. trade laws], and are not limited in duration.”
“Both the Trafficking Tariffs and the Reciprocal Tariffs are unbounded in scope, amount, and duration,” the majority of the panel ruled.
The Appeals Court implemented a stay on its ruling until Oct. 14, giving the administration a window to appeal the decision with the Supreme Court—a course of action it will almost certainly pursue.
If upheld, the decision would invalidate the recently announced country-specific punitive tariffs, along with the 10 percent universal baseline tariff announced this spring. It would not impact sector-specific tariffs on steel and aluminum, which were imposed using different trade laws.
Lambasting the decision as “Highly Partisan,” Trump on Friday afternoon underscored that the tariffs are still in effect. The president Truthed that removing the new duties would be a “total disaster” for the country, weakening it financially and preventing the remediation of persistent trade deficits with other countries.
“At the start of this Labor Day weekend, we should all remember that TARIFFS are the best tool to help our Workers, and support Companies that produce great MADE IN AMERICA products,” he said. “Now, with the help of the United States Supreme Court, we will use them to the benefit of our Nation, and Make America Rich, Strong, and Powerful Again!”
