A federal appeals court has ruled that most of President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs are unlawful, potentially dealing a significant blow to the president's effort to reshape the country's trade policy unilaterally.
In a 7-4 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected Trump's authority to carry out most of his tariffs, agreeing with the lower court that Trump's actions were "invalid as contrary to law."
However, the court delayed the impact of its decision through mid-October to allow the Trump administration to appeal to the Supreme Court, as the tariffs remain in effect.
After Oct. 14, the court will return the case to the lower court to decide how the Supreme Court's recent decision limiting nationwide injunctions affects the decision.
In its decision Friday, the appeals court determined that only Congress, not the president alone, has the authority to impose tariffs, setting up a high-profile legal question for the Supreme Court regarding the scope of the president's power.
"We discern no clear congressional authorization by IEEPA for tariffs of the magnitude of the Reciprocal Tariffs and Trafficking Tariffs," the majority wrote.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard oral arguments on the tariffs in July, during which time the panel of judges appeared skeptical that Trump could justify the tariffs based on a national emergency. »