Appeals Court Strikes Down Trump’s Wide-Ranging Tariffs

President Donald Trump struck a defiant tone late Friday after a federal appeals court invalidated most of his tariffs.

“ALL TARIFFS ARE STILL IN EFFECT!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in a lengthy post following the ruling.

“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.”

“The U.S.A. will no longer tolerate enormous Trade Deficits and unfair Tariffs and Non Tariff Trade Barriers imposed by other Countries, friend or foe, that undermine our Manufacturers, Farmers, and everyone else. If allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America.”

“At the start of this Labor Day weekend, we should all remember that TARIFFS are the best tool to help our Workers, and support Companies that produce great MADE IN AMERICA products. 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.”

The federal appeals court ruled that Trump had no legal right to impose sweeping tariffs but left them in place for now to allow the administration time to file an appeal, Newsmax reported.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Trump could not declare national emergencies and impose import taxes on almost every country, largely upholding a May decision by a specialized federal trade court in New York.

The 7-4 decision tossed out part of that ruling that would have immediately removed the tariffs, allowing the administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The decision complicates Trump’s strategy, which has reshaped decades of American trade policy.

Trump has used them to pressure the European Union, Japan and other countries into new trade deals, while bringing tens of billions of dollars into the Treasury to offset his July 4 tax cuts.

“While existing trade deals may not automatically unravel, the administration could lose a pillar of its negotiating strategy,” Ashley Akers, senior counsel at Holland & Knight and a former Justice Department trial lawyer, said before the appeals court decision.

Another possibility is that the government might have to refund some of the import taxes, delivering a financial blow to the Treasury.

“It would be 1929 all over again, a GREAT DEPRESSION!” Trump said in a previous post.

Tariff revenue totaled $142 billion by July, more than double the year before. The Justice Department warned in a recent filing that revoking the tariffs could mean “financial ruin” for the United States.

The case involves two sets of tariffs that Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

On April 2, “Liberation Day,” he imposed reciprocal tariffs of up to 50 percent on countries with trade deficits and a baseline 10 percent tariff on nearly everyone else.

On Feb. 1, he imposed “trafficking tariffs” on imports from Canada, China, and Mexico, citing the flow of drugs and illegal immigration as a national emergency.

The trade court ruled both sets of tariffs exceeded presidential authority under the law, saying trade deficits and drug trafficking did not qualify as the “unusual and extraordinary threats” required to declare an emergency.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to impose tariffs, but over the decades, lawmakers ceded authority to the president.

Trump argued his authority mirrored that of Richard Nixon, who used emergency powers in 1971 to impose tariffs after ending the dollar’s link to gold.

The trade court rejected the argument in May, combining challenges from five businesses and 12 states.

The appeals court upheld that ruling but left the tariffs in place while Trump appeals to the Supreme Court.

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