A U.S. federal appeals court has condemned President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff strategy as an illegal abuse of power, striking down his use of a national emergency law to tax global imports. The ruling is a direct challenge to the unilateral executive actions that defined his approach to trade.
The court’s decision centered on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which Trump used to justify widespread levies. The majority opinion argued that allowing a president to use this act for tariffs would grant them “unlimited authority” in an area constitutionally reserved for Congress, a possibility the law’s drafters never intended.
This judgment puts the many informal trade understandings reached by the Trump administration in jeopardy. Countries that agreed to import quotas or other measures to appease the U.S. did so based on the threat of these tariffs. With that threat now declared illegal, the foundation for those deals has been removed.
Trump’s vow to appeal ensures that the Supreme Court will likely have the final say on this critical issue of presidential power. The case moves beyond simple trade policy, touching on the fundamental checks and balances of the U.S. government. It also raises the pressing question of financial restitution for companies that paid the now-invalidated tariffs.
41