Court Curbs Trump’s “America First” Trade Policy, Rules Tariffs Illegal

A federal appeals court has put a significant curb on Donald Trump’s “America First” trade policy, ruling that the sweeping tariffs he imposed under a national emergency declaration are illegal. The decision is a victory for importers and free-trade advocates who challenged the policy’s legality.
The court found that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was misapplied by the Trump administration. The judges concluded that the law’s intent was to provide targeted sanctions powers, not to serve as a basis for a president to unilaterally rewrite the country’s tariff schedules based on their own assessment of trade fairness.
This judgment jeopardizes the stability of numerous trade deals struck by the former president. These were often informal understandings reached to avoid the IEEPA tariffs. With the tariffs now ruled unlawful, the incentives for other countries to abide by these deals have been greatly diminished.
The case is now poised for a Supreme Court review, which will have the final say on the matter. The ruling has elevated a technical trade dispute into a major constitutional question about the limits of presidential power and the separation of powers in the U.S. government.