The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority in using the Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on all countries.
A three-judge panel declared Trump's orders placing 10% tariffs on all countries, with rates for some countries to be raised in July, fell outside of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which allows the president to regulate economic transactions in emergency situations.
"Because of the Constitution’s express allocation of the tariff power to Congress, ... we do not read IEEPA to delegate an unbounded tariff authority to the president," the court said. "We instead read IEEPA’s provisions to impose meaningful limits on any such authority it confers."
The court found that IEEPA powers are available to the president only when there is an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to the U.S.'s national security, foreign policy, or economy. A national emergency must be declared with respect to that threat, and the president's exercise of the authority must deal with it.
However, the court said Trump's tariffs simply respond to "an imbalance in trade — a type of balance of payments deficit."
They instead fall under narrower, non-emergency authorities, the court ruled.
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"The worldwide and retaliatory tariff orders exceed any authority granted to the president by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs," the judges wrote.
The judges on the panel were Timothy Reif, Jane Restani, and Gary Katzmann.
The court ordered tariffs under the following executive orders declared be invalid as contrary to law:
A three-judge panel declared Trump's orders placing 10% tariffs on all countries, with rates for some countries to be raised in July, fell outside of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which allows the president to regulate economic transactions in emergency situations.
"Because of the Constitution’s express allocation of the tariff power to Congress, ... we do not read IEEPA to delegate an unbounded tariff authority to the president," the court said. "We instead read IEEPA’s provisions to impose meaningful limits on any such authority it confers."
The court found that IEEPA powers are available to the president only when there is an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to the U.S.'s national security, foreign policy, or economy. A national emergency must be declared with respect to that threat, and the president's exercise of the authority must deal with it.
However, the court said Trump's tariffs simply respond to "an imbalance in trade — a type of balance of payments deficit."
They instead fall under narrower, non-emergency authorities, the court ruled.
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here
"The worldwide and retaliatory tariff orders exceed any authority granted to the president by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs," the judges wrote.
The judges on the panel were Timothy Reif, Jane Restani, and Gary Katzmann.
The court ordered tariffs under the following executive orders declared be invalid as contrary to law:
- Executive Order 14193, Imposing Duties To Address the Flow of Illicit Drugs Across Our Northern Border, 90 Fed. Reg. 9113 (Feb. 1, 2025);
- Executive Order 14194, Imposing Duties To Address the Situation at Our Southern Border, 90 Fed. Reg. 9117 (Feb. 1, 2025);
- Executive Order 14195, Imposing Duties To Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China, 90 Fed. Reg. 9121 (Feb. 1, 2025);
- Executive Order 14257, Regulating Imports with a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices that Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits
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