A federal appeals court has ruled that many of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, including his reciprocal tariffs, are unlawful, though the duties will remain in effect until mid-October.
In a 7–4 decision issued Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., found that the tariffs were not authorized under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the law Trump used to impose them. IEEPA provides the president with broad economic authority during national emergencies, but the court concluded that it does not extend to the sweeping and indefinite tariffs Trump enacted.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by businesses and Democratic-led states, which challenged five executive orders imposing tariffs on goods from nearly every country. “The Government appeals a decision of the Court of International Trade setting aside five Executive Orders that imposed tariffs of unlimited duration on nearly all goods from nearly every country in the world, holding that the tariffs were not authorized by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA),” the lawsuit stated.
Trump invoked IEEPA to justify many of his trade actions, including reciprocal tariffs and measures announced in February against China, Canada, and Mexico. He declared two national emergencies as the legal basis for the tariffs: that the U.S. imports more than it exports, and that China, Canada, and Mexico were not adequately addressing the fentanyl crisis.
In response to the ruling, Trump rejected the decision on his social media platform, writing: “ALL TARIFFS ARE STILL IN EFFECT! Today a Highly Partisan Appeals 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.”
Other tariffs, including those on steel and aluminum, are unaffected by the decision.
The administration has until October 14 to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, and Trump has already signaled he will do so. In another Truth Social post, he wrote: “For many years, Tariffs were allowed to be used against us by our uncaring and unwise Politicians. 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!”
