U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday vowed to take his fight over tariffs to the Supreme Court, pushing back against a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals that struck down most of his signature trade measures as unlawful.
“ALL TARIFFS ARE STILL IN EFFECT! 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.”
Trump wrote, calling the decision a threat to American workers and manufacturers. He argued that eliminating the tariffs would weaken the U.S. economy and pledged,
“With the help of the United States Supreme Court, we will make America rich, strong, and powerful again.”
The ruling, delivered by the Federal Circuit Court in Washington, D.C., found that Trump exceeded his authority when he imposed certain tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law traditionally used for sanctions and asset freezes during emergencies. Trump was the first president to invoke IEEPA for tariffs.
The court noted that while the law grants broad powers to the president, it does not explicitly authorize the imposition of tariffs or taxes.
“It seems unlikely that Congress intended, in enacting IEEPA, to grant the President unlimited authority to impose tariffs,” the judges wrote.
The decision invalidates Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs—introduced in April during his trade war—as well as levies placed in February on China, Canada, and Mexico. However, tariffs on steel and aluminum, imposed under separate statutes, remain in place.
The case was brought by small U.S. businesses and a coalition of 12 Democratic-led states, who argued that the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the authority to impose tariffs and taxes. The court’s ruling leaves the tariffs in effect until October 14, giving Trump time to appeal to the Supreme Court.
For Trump, tariffs remain a defining tool of his economic agenda. He has framed them as a means to protect U.S. industry, reduce trade deficits, and push back against what he calls “unfair barriers” from both allies and rivals. But with the courts striking at the legal foundation of his policy, the future of those tariffs now rests with the nation’s highest court.
