US court blocks Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs, cites overreach of Presidential powers
New Delhi, May 29: A US federal court has struck down President Donald Trump's expansive tariff regime, dealing a serious setback to one of the president’s central economic strategies.
The Court of International Trade in Manhattan ruled that the White House overstepped its legal authority by unilaterally imposing tariffs on a broad range of countries under the guise of a national emergency, reports BBC and other international media.
According to the court, the emergency law invoked by the Trump administration, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), does not grant the president unilateral authority to impose such wide-ranging duties.
"The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs," the three-judge panel wrote in its decision as reported by BBC. They added that the so-called "Trafficking Tariffs" failed because they did not address the threats as outlined in the orders themselves.
In its ruling, the court emphasised the US Constitution’s allocation of trade powers, stating that Congress retains exclusive authority over international commerce. That constitutional principle, it said, could not be overridden by the executive branch.
The decision immediately prompted an appeal from the Trump administration. “It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency,” said White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai in a statement as reported by BBC. “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 lawsuit was brought by the Liberty Justice Centre, a nonpartisan legal group, on behalf of five small businesses affected by the tariffs. The case marked the first major legal challenge to the duties Trump branded as “Liberation Day” tariffs, introduced following his return to the White House.
The court also blocked a separate set of levies aimed specifically at China, Mexico, and Canada, which the administration had justified as a response to drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
BBC reported that the market reaction was swift. Asian stock indices rose in early Thursday trading, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbing about 1.5% and Australia’s ASX 200 also gaining modestly signalling investor optimism about a possible de-escalation in trade tensions. Since Trump first announced the tariffs on April 2, financial markets have fluctuated sharply, responding to evolving negotiations and partial rollbacks. The court’s intervention now casts further uncertainty over the durability of Trump’s tariff agenda.
