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A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that President Donald Trump had no legal right to impose sweeping tariffs on almost every country on earth.
AP reports that the court has however left in place his efforts to build a protectionist wall around the American economy.
The US Court of Appeals found Trump overstepped his authority under an emergency powers law, a major legal blow that largely upheld a May decision by a specialized federal trade court in New York..
The judges wrote in a 7-4 ruling that “It seems unlikely that Congress intended to … grant the President unlimited authority to impose tariffs.”
However, they didn’t strike down the tariffs immediately. They allowed his administration until mid-October to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Spokesman of the White House Kush Desai said Trump had acted lawfully, and “we look forward to ultimate victory on this matter.”
Jeffrey Schwab an attorney for small businesses affected by the tariffs, the Liberty Justice Corner, said the ruling shows Trump doesn’t have unlimited power to impose tariffs on his own.
But it remains unclear whether businesses will see any effects from the decision, said National Foreign Trade Council President Jake Colvin.
He said, “If these tariffs are ultimately struck down, it ought to serve as a wake up call for Congress to reclaim its constitutional mandate to regulate duties and bring some long-term certainty for US businesses and relief for consumers.”
The ruling involves two sets of import taxes, both of which Trump justified by declaring a national emergency under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
