In a firm defense of congressional authority, a U.S. appeals court has ruled against Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers for tariffs, effectively stating that Congress, not the president, makes tariff law. The decision invalidates the legal foundation of his global “reciprocal” tariff policy.
The court found that the former president’s reliance on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was a misstep. The judges concluded that the law was never designed to be a workaround for the legislative process on trade matters. The ruling emphasizes that the power to lay and collect duties is explicitly granted to Congress in the Constitution.
This judgment unsettles the fragile trade deals struck by the Trump administration. Nations that agreed to concessions to avoid these tariffs may now reconsider their commitments, arguing they were based on an illegal assertion of presidential power. The ruling could trigger a significant realignment of global trade dynamics.
The case is now on a trajectory toward the Supreme Court. It presents a classic separation-of-powers dilemma that will require the justices to weigh the president’s foreign policy discretion against the specific constitutional authority of the legislative branch. Billions of dollars in tariff revenue hang in the balance.