A federal trade court knocked down President Donald Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs late Wednesday and the administration immediately challenged the ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The U.S. Court of International Trade issued the decision, blocking all of Trump’s vast and sweeping tariffs.
“The question in the two cases before the court is whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (‘IEEPA’) delegates these powers to the President in the form of authority to impose unlimited tariffs on goods from nearly every country in the world,” the three-judge panel wrote. “The court does not read IEEPA to confer such unbounded authority and sets aside the challenged tariffs imposed thereunder.”
The White House blasted the decision, saying it wasn’t up to “unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency.”
“Foreign countries’ nonreciprocal treatment of the United States has fueled America’s historic and persistent trade deficits,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told the Washington Examiner. “These deficits have created a national emergency that has decimated American communities, left our workers behind, and weakened our defense industrial base — facts that the court did not dispute. It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency. President Trump pledged to put America First, and the Administration is committed to using every lever of executive power to address this crisis and restore American Greatness.”
The three-judge panel included an Obama appointee, a Reagan appointee, and a Trump-appointed judge.
Trump declared the bulk of his tariffs on April 2, or “Liberation Day,” imposing reciprocal tariffs on many U.S. trade partners and imposing a 10% flat tariff on most goods coming into the United States. The pause does not halt all of Trump’s tariffs, sparing the 25% tariffs on autos, auto parts, steel, or aluminum, which had been enforced under a different law.
The decision comes after several states including Arizona, Oregon, and New York sued the Trump administration over the tariffs, which many Democrats say raise costs on consumers.
Democrats rejoiced at the news.
“BREAKING: We sued the Trump Administration over their ridiculous tariff policy — and we WON! A tariff is just a backdoor tax. New York is fighting to stop these tariffs and put money back in your pocket,” Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) posted on X.
Among Republicans, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) condemned the ruling.
“You mean a federal judge has intervened with the other two branches’ ability to make policy? I’m shocked. … I think it’s pretty clear he has tariff authority,” he said in an interview with Fox News.
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Stock market futures rose on the news of the ruling. Dow futures rose 1.1%, S&P 500 futures were up 1.4%, and Nasdaq futures were 1.7% higher in after-hours trading.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Department of Justice about a possible appeal.
The full decision can be read below:
