Court finds Trump's tariffs unconstitutional

The court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which Trump invoked to justify imposing the tariffs, does not give him such authority. Under the US Constitution, only Congress has the power to impose tariffs, the Financial Times reported.

“The Worldwide and Mirror Duties Executive Orders exceed any authority granted to the president to regulate imports through tariffs,” the court said in its ruling.

The court ruled that Trump's executive orders are declared invalid as contrary to the law.

At issue are the 25 percent duties he imposed on goods from Canada and Mexico, 20 percent on Chinese imports, and a 10 percent tariff on imports from all U.S. trading partners, which were justified on the grounds of reducing the trade deficit.

The court struck down reciprocal tariffs ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent on products from 60 countries that were scheduled to take effect July 9 if foreign governments could not reach an agreement with the White House by then.

“We brought this case because the Constitution does not give any president unlimited power to undermine the economy. This decision reaffirms that our laws matter and that trade decisions cannot be made at the whim of the president,” said Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, who along with 11 other attorneys general filed the lawsuit against Trump's duties.

A White House spokesperson criticized the decision and said that President Trump promised to put America first and the administration is committed to using every lever of executive power to address this crisis and restore American greatness.

The Trump administration has filed an appeal.

Photo: screenshot.