U.S. court blocks Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, ruling they exceed legal authority

The Trump administration's reciprocal tariffs on America's trade partners have hit a legal hurdle at home with the U.S. Court of International Trade asserting that the president is stepping beyond his authority.

Shin Se-byuck has details.

The U.S. Court of International Trade struck down core parts of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs, saying they overstepped presidential authority under existing law.

At the center of the ruling is the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA.

The Trump administration cited the law on April 2 to justify a global 10-percent tariff, along with higher, reciprocal duties on major trading partners like South Korea, the EU, Japan, and China.

But the court rejected this interpretation.

It said the law was intended for true emergencies, not for addressing routine trade deficits.

The judges emphasized that Congress never gave the president blanket authority to impose such broad trade measures.

The ruling halts some of the administration's most controversial trade actions, including 30 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, 25-percent duties on select Mexican and Canadian goods, and a 10-percent universal tariff on most products entering the U.S.

However, the ruling does not affect auto, steel, or aluminum tariffs imposed under a separate legal provision, Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, a law permitting tariffs for national security reasons.

Just minutes after the decision, the Trump administration filed a notice of appeal.

The White House pushed back against the ruling, arguing that decisions on national emergencies should rest with the president, not the courts.

It also reaffirmed President Trump's commitment to fully exercising his executive powers to respond to the crisis and advance his "America First" agenda.

The court has given the administration a ten-day window to issue any necessary administrative orders.

If the ruling is upheld through appeal, and possibly the Supreme Court, most of the tariffs would be suspended.

The lawsuit, brought by the nonpartisan Liberty Justice Center on behalf of five small importers affected by the tariffs, marked the first major legal challenge to Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" measures.

Shin Se-byuck, Arirang News.